Drew Barrymore’s Incredible Hollywood Journey: E.T., Charlie’s Angels, Grey Gardens and More

Drew Barrymore is an American actress, producer, director, author and television personality who grew up in one of Hollywood’s most famous acting families and became a major star as a child after playing Gertie in Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Her career later moved through teenage and adult roles, romantic comedies, action films, television, producing and directing. She helped build Flower Films with Nancy Juvonen, starred in films including The Wedding Singer, Ever After, Never Been Kissed, Charlie’s Angels, 50 First Dates and Music & Lyrics, and earned major recognition for Grey Gardens. In the 2020s, she added daytime television to her career through The Drew Barrymore Show. As of September 2026, the show is in its seventh season after being renewed through its eighth season, and Barrymore remains its host and executive producer. She also continues to make selected film appearances and run her Beautiful by Drew home brand. 

Summary

• Full name: Drew Blythe Barrymore

• Date of birth: February 22, 1975

• Current age: 51

• Birthplace: Culver City, California, United States

• Nationality: American

• Profession: Actress, producer, director, author, talk-show host and entrepreneur

• Years active: 1978–present

• Major breakthrough: Gertie in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

• Major films: The Wedding Singer, Ever After, Never Been Kissed, Charlie’s Angels, 50 First Dates, Music & Lyrics and Grey Gardens

• Production company: Flower Films, co-founded with Nancy Juvonen in 1995 

• Major acting award: Golden Globe for Grey Gardens

• Television milestone: The Drew Barrymore Show, launched in 2020

• Recent major award: 2025 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host 

• Current television status: Hosting and executive producing Season 7 of The Drew Barrymore Show, which premiered September 14, 2026

• Current renewal: The talk show has been renewed for Seasons 7 and 8, taking it through the 2027–28 television season.

Early Life and Childhood

Drew Blythe Barrymore was born on February 22, 1975, in Culver City, California. She was born into the Barrymore family, one of the best-known acting dynasties in American entertainment.

Her father was actor John Drew Barrymore, while her mother was Ildiko Jaid Barrymore. Through her father's side, Drew is connected to several generations of performers, including her grandfather John Barrymore and her great-uncles Lionel Barrymore and Ethel Barrymore. Lionel and Ethel were major figures in American stage and screen history, making Drew part of a family whose connection to entertainment goes back many generations.

Drew also has three older half-siblings on her father's side. The Barrymore family history was filled with famous performers, but Drew's own childhood was very different from the glamorous image often associated with Hollywood.

She began working almost unbelievably early. The official biography for The Drew Barrymore Show says she appeared in commercials before her first birthday. Biography.com also records that her first commercial was for dog food and that her early career began while she was still an infant. 

Her early years were shaped by working rather than by a normal school routine. When she was six or seven, she was already taking on professional acting jobs. She eventually became one of the most recognizable child stars of the 1980s.

Her childhood also became widely discussed because fame arrived before she was old enough to understand the pressures that came with it. Her own memoirs, including Little Girl Lost and Wildflower, later gave her perspective on those years.

At 14, Barrymore was legally emancipated from her parents. In a 2015 memoir extract published by The Guardian, she described the court decision as the point at which she was allowed to begin living independently. 

She has also spoken openly about the difficult parts of her teenage years, including treatment and the breakdown in her relationship with her mother. Later in life, she described that period as something that forced her to grow up very quickly. 

The fact that she was able to return to professional work after such a difficult adolescence became one of the defining parts of her public story. Rather than remaining known only as a former child star, she gradually built a second career as an adult actress and eventually as a producer and director.

Education

Barrymore's education did not follow the traditional path.

She attended schools including Fountain Day School in West Hollywood and Country School, but her early acting career and difficult adolescence interrupted her formal education. She has said publicly that after becoming emancipated at 14, she did not continue with a standard high-school education. 

In September 2021, she announced on The Drew Barrymore Show that she was going back to school to pursue her GED. The GED organization reported at the time that Barrymore had never received a traditional high-school diploma and had started her GED journey with the support of RuPaul. 

I did not find a definitive official current record confirming that Barrymore completed the GED, so it is safer to describe it as a GED journey rather than claim a graduation that cannot be firmly verified.

She did not attend a traditional college or university, and her professional education largely came through her decades of experience in film, television, producing, directing and business.

Beginning of Career

Barrymore's professional career began before she could even attend school regularly.

Her first known screen work came through commercials, followed by film work. Her feature-film debut was in Altered States (1980), when she was about five years old. The Hollywood Walk of Fame's official biography records the film as her debut and notes that she later became one of Hollywood's best-known child actors. (Hollywood Walk of Fame)

Her career changed dramatically in 1982 when Steven Spielberg cast her as Gertie in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

Barrymore was only six when she was selected for the role. The official biography for her daytime program says Spielberg chose her to co-star as Gertie, while the Television Academy identifies Gertie as the role that broke her into the acting world.

The success of E.T. turned Barrymore into a major child star. She was soon appearing on television, attending major Hollywood events and receiving attention well beyond her age.

She also became the youngest person to host Saturday Night Live at that time, adding another unusual achievement to her childhood career.

But early fame came with major personal pressure. By her teenage years, her life had become the subject of intense media attention, and her career temporarily slowed as she dealt with serious personal problems and treatment.

Her memoir Little Girl Lost, published in 1990, documented her experiences as a young performer. Years later, Wildflower, published in 2015, offered a more mature look at her childhood, adulthood, motherhood and career. 

Breakthrough

Barrymore's first great breakthrough was clearly E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

Playing Gertie gave her international recognition and established her as a major child actor. The film also introduced her to a massive worldwide audience at a very young age.

Her adult breakthrough came later.

After several years of uncertainty during her adolescence, Barrymore gradually rebuilt her career. Films such as Guncrazy, Bad Girls, Boys on the Side and Scream helped show audiences that she could move beyond her childhood image.

Her role as Casey Becker in Scream (1996) was especially memorable even though it was brief. The opening sequence became one of the most recognizable scenes in the horror franchise, and Barrymore's name became associated with the film despite not being its main character.

Then came a remarkable run of romantic comedies.

In 1998, she appeared with Adam Sandler in The Wedding Singer and starred as Danielle in Ever After: A Cinderella Story. These movies helped establish the adult image that would define much of her career during the late 1990s and 2000s.

In 1999, she starred in Never Been Kissed as Josie Geller and also expanded her role behind the camera through Flower Films.

That combination—acting, producing and developing projects herself—became one of the most important changes in her career.

Major Career

Barrymore's career cannot be understood simply as a list of films. She gradually became someone who could work on several sides of entertainment.

Acting

After E.T., she continued with movies such as Firestarter, Irreconcilable Differences, Guncrazy, Boys on the Side and Scream.

Her biggest commercial and cultural period came from the late 1990s into the 2000s. The Wedding Singer, Ever After, Never Been Kissed, Charlie's Angels, 50 First Dates and Music & Lyrics made her one of the most recognizable actresses in romantic comedies and mainstream studio films.

Her chemistry with Adam Sandler became particularly important. The pair worked together in The Wedding Singer and 50 First Dates, building a screen partnership that audiences continued to associate with Barrymore.

Producing

In 1995, Barrymore and Nancy Juvonen founded Flower Films. The company became an important part of her career.

Its productions included Never Been Kissed, Charlie's Angels, 50 First Dates, Donnie Darko, Duplex, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Music & Lyrics, Fever Pitch, He's Just Not That Into You and Whip It. 

Charlie's Angels was especially important because Barrymore was not simply one of the stars. She was also a producer, helping shape a major studio action-comedy franchise.

The 2000 movie starred Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu. Its worldwide box office reached more than $264 million. 

Directing

Barrymore moved into directing with Whip It in 2009.

The film starred Elliot Page, Kristen Wiig, Barrymore herself and others. It gave Barrymore the opportunity to work behind the camera after years of producing films through Flower Films.

That experience demonstrated that she wanted her career to extend beyond acting.

Television

Barrymore earned one of the strongest critical performances of her career in HBO's Grey Gardens in 2009, playing Edith Bouvier Beale alongside Jessica Lange.

The role brought her a Golden Globe win and a Screen Actors Guild award. The Golden Globes lists the performance as a 2010 winner for Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television. 

She was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy for the same performance. The Television Academy confirms her 2009 nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. 

Years later, Barrymore returned to television in a very different way.

The Drew Barrymore Show premiered in 2020 and combined celebrity interviews, lifestyle features, entertainment coverage and human-interest stories. Barrymore became host and executive producer, with Ross Mathews among the show's regular contributors. 

The program eventually became one of the central parts of her professional life.

Major Movies and TV Shows

Barrymore's official and industry listings confirm the broad filmography above, while Paramount, Sony and other production sources verify several of the key credits. (Golden Globes)

Personal Life

Family

Family has always been an important part of Barrymore's public story.

She was born to John Drew Barrymore and Jaid Barrymore and grew up connected to an extraordinary acting dynasty. Her grandfather John Barrymore was one of the most famous actors of his generation, while Lionel and Ethel Barrymore were also major names in American entertainment.

Her relationship with her mother was especially complicated. Barrymore has spoken about the difficult years of her adolescence and the eventual legal emancipation that separated her from her parents.

Her relationship with her mother later became more peaceful, although Barrymore has continued to describe their history as complicated and unusual. PEOPLE has reported that becoming a mother herself helped her gain a different perspective on Jaid and their relationship. 

Barrymore has also become a mother of two daughters, Olive and Frankie, with her former husband Will Kopelman.

Olive was born on September 26, 2012, and Frankie was born on April 22, 2014.

Barrymore has often said that motherhood changed the way she understood her own childhood. In a 2025 interview, she discussed how becoming a mother forced her to think deeply about the type of home and childhood she wanted to create for her daughters. 

Relationships and Marriages

Barrymore has been married three times.

Her first marriage was to Jeremy Thomas in 1994. The marriage was brief.

She later married comedian Tom Green in 2001. They divorced in 2002.

Her third marriage was to Will Kopelman. The couple married in June 2012 and had two daughters together. They separated in 2016, and their divorce was finalized that year.

Barrymore has continued to speak publicly about the challenge of creating a healthy family structure after divorce. In March 2025, she discussed the emotional difficulty of not having the traditional family arrangement she had once imagined for herself. 

As of September 19, 2026, I did not find a reliable current report identifying a spouse or confirmed public romantic partner for Barrymore. Because relationship reporting can change and celebrity dating stories are often based on speculation, it is better not to describe her as being in a current relationship without a reliable confirmation.

Philanthropy, Charity and Causes

Barrymore has supported several charitable causes over the years, with animal welfare being particularly visible.

The ASPCA honored her with its Compassion Award in 2016. The organization noted her long-standing support for animals and her work promoting adoption and animal welfare.

In 2024, Barrymore joined an ASPCA and Ring campaign supporting shelter animals. The campaign aimed to raise up to $500,000 for the ASPCA and local shelters through pet-related social media submissions. The ASPCA described Barrymore as a long-time supporter of animal welfare and said she was a pet parent to seven adopted animals.

She has also been associated with organizations and causes involving children, hunger, disaster relief and humanitarian work. One charity database records support linked to UNICEF, the World Food Programme, Baby2Baby and several animal-rescue organizations. 

Barrymore's connection with the World Food Programme has included trips to Kenya and public work related to hunger relief. 

“It was absolutely love at first sight” — Barrymore discussing her adopted pets while supporting an ASPCA campaign. 

Awards and Nominations

Barrymore has received recognition from the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, Emmy Awards, MTV Movie & TV Awards, Webby Awards and other organizations.

The Golden Globes confirms three nominations and one win for Barrymore, including her 2010 victory for Grey Gardens. (Golden Globes) The Television Academy confirms her two Primetime Emmy nominations, including Grey Gardens. (Television Academy) BAFTA records her 1983 nomination for E.T. (Bafta) SAG-AFTRA confirms her Grey Gardens award at the 2010 SAG Awards. (SAG-AFTRA) The Daytime Emmy organization records her 2025 win. (The Emmys)

Latest Career Developments

As of September 19, 2026, Barrymore's career is centered heavily on television, while she continues to appear in selected film projects.

The Drew Barrymore Show — Season 7

Season 7 premiered on September 14, 2026.

The current season introduced the new “Personal Space” interview format and expanded the program outside its usual studio setup, including coverage from Olivia Rodrigo's Daisy Chain Fields Festival. Guests during the opening week included Olivia Rodrigo, Jaclyn Smith, Kate Jackson, Sarah McLachlan, Neil Patrick Harris, Shirley Manson, Hasan Minhaj, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Helen Mirren and others. 

By September 18, the show had already released multiple Season 7 episodes, including interviews with Benny Blanco and Bikini Kill's Kathleen Hanna. 

In March 2026, CBS Media Ventures announced that the program had been renewed for a seventh and eighth season. The renewal takes the show through the 2027–28 television season. 

The previous season was reported by CBS Media Ventures as the show's most-watched season at the time, reaching 1.6 million daily viewers.

2025 Daytime Emmy Win

A major recent career achievement came in October 2025, when Barrymore won her first Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host for The Drew Barrymore Show. The program also received wins for directing and hairstyling/makeup that year. 

Hollywood Squares

Barrymore has also become the center square on the CBS version of Hollywood Squares, with Nate Burleson as host.

CBS lists Barrymore as the show's center square, and Season 2 aired episodes into May 2026. She also has an executive-producer credit on the program.

2026 Film Appearances

Barrymore appeared as herself in Outcome, the 2026 dark comedy directed by Jonah Hill and starring Keanu Reeves, Cameron Diaz and Matt Bomer. The film was released for streaming on April 10, 2026. 

She also made a cameo as herself in Influenced, a 2026 comedy about influencer culture. The film premiered at the Miami Jewish Film Festival in January 2026, received a U.S. theatrical release on May 8 and became available digitally in July. 

These appearances represent a different kind of screen work from her earlier career. Rather than leading a major studio film, Barrymore has increasingly appeared as herself while concentrating on television and producing.

Beautiful by Drew Barrymore

Barrymore remains involved with Beautiful by Drew Barrymore, the home and kitchen brand she developed with Made by Gather.

The company describes Barrymore as co-founder and creative director, while Walmart continues to sell the brand's appliances, cookware, furniture and other home products. 

This business has become an important part of the career she built beyond acting.

Flower Beauty

Barrymore's earlier beauty company, Flower Beauty, had a different ending.

The brand, launched in 2012, was reported as closing in September 2025 after 13 years. Beauty-industry publications reported that Maesa was moving away from makeup and focusing on other beauty categories. (Beauty Independent)

That means Flower Beauty should not be described as an active current makeup business in a 2026 biography.

Current Projects

As of this update, I did not find a reliable official announcement confirming a new major scripted feature in which Barrymore will return as a leading actress. Her verified current workload is primarily centered on television, business and selected film appearances.

Net Worth

Celebrity net worth figures are difficult to verify because private assets, property holdings, contracts, business ownership and investments are generally not publicly disclosed in full.

Celebrity Net Worth lists Drew Barrymore's estimated net worth at $85 million, with the page updated March 25, 2026. The publication also says Barrymore's income has come from acting, producing, television and business ventures. (Celebrity Net Worth)

Other entertainment websites have published different estimates, including figures higher than $100 million. Because these figures are not audited public financial statements, they should be treated as estimates rather than confirmed wealth.

For that reason, the safest wording is:

Drew Barrymore's estimated net worth is around $85 million according to Celebrity Net Worth, although other entertainment publications have reported different figures.

Career Highlights

Why Drew Barrymore Stands Out

Barrymore's career is unusual because it contains several distinct chapters.

She first became famous as a child actor, then had to rebuild her professional life during her teenage years. She later became one of the most recognizable romantic-comedy actresses of the late 1990s and 2000s.

But acting was only one part of that development.

Through Flower Films, Barrymore gained experience as a producer and became involved in developing projects rather than simply waiting for roles. She eventually moved into directing with Whip It.

Later, she created another professional identity as a television host.

That transition is especially important because The Drew Barrymore Show allowed her to use parts of her personality that had not always been central to her movie roles. On television, she became known for conversations about family, relationships, pop culture, lifestyle and everyday experiences.

Her public image has therefore changed several times: child star, teenage comeback actress, romantic-comedy star, producer, director, author, businesswoman and talk-show host.

Legacy and Career Impact

Barrymore's long-term career impact can already be seen across several areas of entertainment.

In film, she became one of the familiar faces of the romantic-comedy era, particularly through movies such as The Wedding Singer, Never Been Kissed, 50 First Dates and Music & Lyrics.

In action-comedy, her role in Charlie's Angels placed her among a major female ensemble and also gave her a producing role behind the project. Flower Films went on to produce a number of recognizable films. 

In television, Grey Gardens showed that Barrymore could take on more demanding dramatic material, while Santa Clarita Diet demonstrated her willingness to work in television comedy.

Her daytime career added another chapter. The Drew Barrymore Show turned her into a regular television presence rather than an actress who appeared only when promoting a movie.

Her current impact is therefore not limited to acting. She has worked as a performer, producer, director, author, business creator and television host.

Her Hollywood Walk of Fame star, awarded in 2004, is another marker of the place she had already established in the film industry by that point. 

References

Paramount Press Express — The Drew Barrymore Show Season 7

Paramount Press Express — The Drew Barrymore Show Renewed for Two Seasons

Television Academy — Drew Barrymore

Golden Globes — Drew Barrymore

Golden Globes — Drew Barrymore Reflects on Golden Globe Win

SAG-AFTRA — 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards

BAFTA — 1983 Most Promising Newcomer Awards

CBS — Hollywood Squares

Sony Pictures — 50 First Dates

ASPCA — Drew Barrymore Honored at ASPCA Bergh Ball

ASPCA — Drew Barrymore and Dave Bautista Support Shelter Dogs

Penguin Random House — Wildflower by Drew Barrymore

GED — Drew Barrymore Starts Her GED Journey

The Guardian — Drew Barrymore: The Day I Divorced My Mother

Beautiful by Drew Barrymore — Our Story