Drew Barrymore

Biography

Since melting audiences' hearts - at the age of six - in Steven Spielberg's beloved sci-fi blockbuster, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Drew Barrymore has emerged as one of the most endearing and talented actresses of her generation. Drew Blyth Barrymore was born in Culver City, California, to actors John Drew Barrymore and Jaid Barrymore (née Ildiko Jaid Mako). Her father came from a long showbusiness legacy, as the son of actors John Barrymore and Dolores Costello, while her mother was the daughter of Hungarian refugees. Despite a troubled and much-publicized adolescence, and a string of "bad girl" parts in lurid crime dramas such as Poison Ivy (1992), Barrymore's star was officially on the rise during the mid-1990s, with notable appearances in Boys on the Side (1995), Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You (1996), and the game-changing horror hit Scream (1996). An eclectic mix of high-profile and low-key film projects followed - such as The Wedding Singer (1998), Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998), Never Been Kissed (1999), Charlie's Angels (2000), Donnie Darko (2001), Riding in Cars with Boys (2001) and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) - proving to once-cynical audiences that Barrymore was not only a capable leading lady, but also a gifted and versatile actor. Next came headlining parts in Duplex (2003), 50 First Dates (2004), Fever Pitch (2005), Music and Lyrics (2007), Lucky You (2007), Ce que pensent les hommes (2009), and the much-lauded Grey Gardens (2009), for which she earned Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards for her portrayal of Edith Bouvier Beale. In 2009, Barrymore - whose production company, Flower Films, has spawned several lucrative features - made her long-awaited directional debut with the comedy-drama Whip It (2009), emerging as "a sensitive director who knows how and when to let an emotional moment linger on the screen" (TIME). Alongside a recurring guest spot - as the voice of Jillian - on the cult animated series Family Guy (1999), recent acting roles have included Everybody's Fine (2009), Going the Distance (2010), Big Miracle (2012), Blended (2014), and Miss You Already (2015).