Celebrity Drew Barrymore moves into Cougar territory!
Drew Barrymore is best known for being Hollywood's wild child, the young actress who went off the rails and serves as a cautionary tale whenever kids get too deep in showbiz. "But look what happened to Drew Barrymore!" Drew doesn't mind. She's written about her childhood in a tell-all autobiography, Little Girl Lost. And she's open about her experiences and how they shaped her. If others can learn something from the mistakes she's made, she's glad to have made a difference. She just hates it when people quote the facts of her life without bothering to tell the whole story.
Drew Blyth Barrymore was born on February 22, 1975 into an already well-established acting family. Her parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents had all been acting since the days of silent movies, and her godfather was none other than Steven Spielberg himself. Some say it was her lineage that propelled her to stardom - that acting has always been in her blood. Certainly, her family tree was influencing her since before she could even talk. Drew made her acting debut as an 11 month old baby in a dog food commercial. Other, more substantial roles followed, the most famous being her part in E.T. She followed this with a half-dozen other successful movies and received her first Golden Globe nomination at age nine.
Despite her childhood success - or perhaps because of it - Drew had a troubled adolescence. She was smoking and drinking before she even hit puberty, and graduated to cocaine by thirteen. She entered rehab the same year. The tabloids were obsessed, and her partying prompted a media frenzy about teenage rebellion and the pressures on young Hollywood stars. Spiraling out of control, she tried to commit suicide at 14. She endured another stint in rehab and then started living on her own after successfully petitioning for legal emancipation. With this newfound freedom, Drew made a name for herself as a teen temptress. Barrymore starred in risque movies (including 1992's Poison Ivy) and posed nude for Playboy and Interview Magazine. She made short work of men - engaged to an actor at sixteen, marrying a bartender for barely a month. Her first divorce was at nineteen. She went on record talking about her bisexuality and preteen cokehead days, and the paparazzi loved her for the drama and unpredictability that followed her like a shadow. During an infamous appearance on Letterman, she climbed on his desk and flashed him.
For her twentieth birthday, godfather Steven Spielberg sent her a quilt with the note, "Cover yourself up." Luckily, age brought maturity for Drew. She calmed down as she grew older, working more and taking lighter, less controversial roles in a string of romantic comedies. She enjoyed several nominations from the MTV and People's Choice Awards. Her personal life improved, and she became an Ambassador Against Hunger for an international food program in the United Nations. To date, she's donated more than $1 million to various causes - a far cry from spending all her money on drugs and nightclubs. In 2002, Drew embarked on a relationship with rock/alt drummer Fabrizio Moretti, prompting cougar and cradle robbing jokes. (Moretti is almost six years her junior and was 22 at the time.) Like other female celebrities, their relationship lasted several years before they split on friendly terms, leading some to believe a reconciliation may be on the horizon.
Drew also found closure for an open wound in her life: her father. Her parents divorced shortly after her birth, and Drew barely knew him and resented him for taking off and leaving her with her unstable mother. Then he was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer and given seven months to live. Drew made amends and they spent his last days together. She told People magazine, "He looked at my feet and said, 'Perfect. You were made perfect.' I just started crying. I was like, 'Thank you, God, for letting me have this moment.'" Drew has come a long way since the drunk, cigarette-smoking nine year old. She's become an actress, producer, humanitarian, and co-founder of the "Flower Films" production company. She directed her first film, Whip It, in 2009, to critical success. Her films have made more than $2.3 billion worldwide.
How does she look back at her own life? "I never regret anything," she says. "Because every little detail of your life is what made you into who you are in the end."
Happy Hunting!