Drew Barrymore

Lore & Background

Drew Barrymore entered the public eye at age six, appearing on The Flinstone Show, and became a global face by seven when Steven Spielberg cast her as Gertie in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. That early fame, combined with a turbulent adolescence that she has spoken about openly in interviews and her 2015 memoir Little Girl Lost, shaped a career defined as much by personal resilience as by box-office hits. In the late 1990s and early 2000s she anchored a string of romantic comedies—10 Things I Hate About You, The Wedding Singer, Charlie's Angels—that made her a defining screen presence of that era.

Her transition behind the camera began with the 2009 sports drama Whip It, which she wrote, directed, and produced, earning critical praise and establishing her as a working director rather than a one-off. She followed with Murder Mystery (2019) and With Love (2020). In 2020 she also acquired 20th Century Studios from Disney's sale of its film-and-television division, making her one of the few women to own a major Hollywood studio.

Her television work, The Drew Barrymore Show, launched in 2020 and has become a long-running daytime staple, blending celebrity interviews with a warm, conversational tone that fans describe as the antidote to the polished, high-production talk-show format. Across acting, directing, studio ownership, and hosting, her legacy is that of a persistent, multi-hyphenate presence who has navigated the industry's shifting power structures while remaining publicly accessible.

In Their Own Story

The studio lot is quiet at 6 a.m., the kind of stillness that only exists before the crew trucks roll in. Drew walks the empty backlot of 20th Century Studios, her footsteps echoing off the concrete, a coffee going lukewarm in her hand. She stops in front of the old lot gate—the one she passed as a child on her way to set, the one that now bears her name in the ownership records. A production assistant jogs past with a script binder. "Morning, Drew!" she calls out. "Morning," Drew replies, already turning back toward the office where a director's pitch is waiting. The coffee is cold. She drinks it anyway. There's a show to host, a film to greenlight, and somewhere a young actress is about to walk onto a set for the first time, terrified and electric. Drew remembers that feeling. She always has.

Reader's Guide

The Child-Star Era (1979–1992): Drew's public life began before she could drive. E.T. (1982) made her a household name globally, and the early '80s saw her rotate through TV guest spots and small films. The late '80s brought the well-documented struggles of a teenager under constant scrutiny, a period she later addressed candidly in her memoir Little Girl Lost (2015). What defined this era was the collision of extreme early fame with adolescent development, and the industry's (then) limited tools for protecting a child performer.

The Romantic-Comedy Peak (1997–2005): 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), The Wedding Singer (1999), and Charlie's Angels (2000) positioned her as the go-to lead for a specific brand of accessible, fun, emotionally open screen work. Her performance as Grace Adler on Will & Grace (2003–2007) added a sharp, wry comedic register. What changed here was her agency: she was choosing roles, negotiating, and building a brand rather than being handed parts.

The Director and Studio Owner (2009–present): Whip It (2009) proved she could write, direct, and produce a film with a distinct point of view. The 2020 acquisition of 20th Century Studios and the launch of The Drew Barrymore Show marked a shift from performer to gatekeeper and platform-builder. The ripple effect: a woman now sits at the decision-making table for a major studio's slate, and a daytime show built around genuine conversation has become a cultural fixture. The broader landscape shifted as audiences and executives began to expect more female voices in ownership and creative leadership, and Barrymore's visibility made that expectation harder to ignore.

Did You Know?

• Drew Barrymore was seven years old when she filmed E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Spielberg reportedly let her improvise much of her dialogue on set.
• Before becoming a director, she co-wrote the 2009 film Whip It with its star Ellen Page, and the screenplay was inspired by a real roller-derby team in Olympia, Washington.
• Her father, John Barrymore, was one of the most celebrated stage and screen actors of the 1920s and 1930s, meaning Drew grew up in a family with a deep, multi-generational Hollywood lineage.
• The Drew Barrymore Show was originally conceived as a one-hour evening program but was restructured into a two-hour daytime format before its 2020 premiere, a change that reshaped its tone and audience.