Actress, producer and director Drew Barrymore rode a career rollercoaster before hitting the age of 25, surviving childhood stardom and adolescent drug addiction to say nothing of a tragic family legacy of great talent, but also great pain only to work her way up to Hollywood A-lister. Steven Spielbergs science fiction blockbuster E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) first launched the dimpled and precocious seven-year-old, though her image was shattered by tabloid photos of her partying at New York night clubs and three stints in rehab for drug and alcohol addiction by the time she was just 13 years old. Following several years of teen angst typecasting in low-budget features like Poison Ivy (1992), Barrymores big, open smile resurfaced and she was tapped by filmmakers for the free-spirited energy she brought to the screen. A naturally charming lead in romantic comedies, Barrymore won over male and female audiences by playing slightly offbeat but sincere sweethearts in hits like The Wedding Singer (1998), 50 First Dates (2004) and Music and Lyrics (2007). Her down-to-earth appeal also led to popularity in empowerment-themed chick flicks, ranging from the melodramatic Boys on the Side (1995) to the sublimely fun Charlies Angels film franchise, which she also produced as co-owner of her own Flower Films. Well after her dark years were behind her, Barrymore continued to make entertainment news for the occasional spontaneous nudity incident or whirlwind marriage, but nothing could mar her hard-won status as a perennially popular actress and successful producer-turned-director.
Born Feb. 22, 1975, in Los Angeles, Barrymore was the product of a five-generation strong acting dynasty that included her grandfather, Shakespearean actor John Barrymore, silent film star grandmother Dolores Costello, great-uncle and Oscar winner Lionel Barrymore, and a stage actress and Oscar-winning great-aunt Ethel Barrymore, among others. Her father John Barrymore, Jr., a Bohemian screen actor known for his drug arrests and hippie lifestyle during the 1960s, and Barrymores mother, actress and model Ildyko Jaid, split up before the youngest Barrymore was even born. Raised by a struggling single mom, Barrymore made her screen debut at two and a half quite by accident; a favor by her mother to director of the TV film Suddenly Love (1978) starring Cindy Williams. More than just another cute, dimpled blonde, Barrymore showed an unusual amount of concentration and overall understanding of her job on the set. Her mother had concerns, but the girl who loved creating fantasy worlds and playing dress-up begged her mother to let her act more. She was cast in a number of commercials, hit theaters in a small role in Altered States (1980), and became Americas sweetheart at the age of seven for her refreshingly wry, scene-stealing performance as wide-eyed Gertie in the Steven Spielberg family classic, "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. The film went on to become one of the top-grossing of all time, earning Barrymore a BAFTA nomination for Most Promising Newcomer, a Young Artist Award for Best Young Supporting Actress, and instant fame.
While Barrymores lineage was responsible for some of the notice, her precocious charisma propelled her career onto the next phase, where she was promptly cast against-type in the sci-fi offering "Firestarter" (1984) as a destructive, telekinetic tot in the Stephen King adaptation. In the comic but somber Irreconcilable Differences (1984), Barrymore played a nine-year-old Hollywood daughter who sues for emancipation from her self-involved, high profile parents, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The story struck home with the young actress because while Barrymore appeared to be America's lovable, precocious scamp, off-screen her peripatetic lifestyle, absent father, and rocky relationship with her mother made for an emotionally starved kid who turned to drugs and alcohol to escape the loneliness and chaos. Meanwhile, Spielberg tapped his prot
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