- This movie star battled alcoholism and drug addiction since she was a child.
- At 14, she started living alone in a house with fungus and cleaned toilets to earn a living.
- From a rocky childhood, the actress is now a movie star, living in a modest but gorgeous apartment.
The movie star, 4, imagines she’s a grownup as she tried on one of her mother’s hats on March 21, 1979. | Source: Getty Images
This former Hollywood child star had a chaotic upbringing, giving her a tumultuous childhood. Her father, an actor, was an alcoholic, who was barely present in her life. The movie star also felt like her mother, an aspiring actress, wasn’t ready for motherhood.
The movie star poses for a photograph with her mother in New York City, on June 8, 1982. | Source: Getty Images
This actress followed in her parents’ footsteps at a young age, as she made her debut at five when she starred in Ken Russell’s sci-fi and horror film “Altered States.” However, her rise to fame came at the age of seven when she acted as Gertie in Steven Spielberg’s “E.T. the extra-terrestrial.”
Steven Spielberg and the movie star pose with E.T. at Carlo Rimbaldi studio in Los Angeles, California in April, 1982. | Source: Getty Images
As she thrived as a child in the entertainment industry, the actress’s life at home was a mess, her parents having divorced. “I didn’t have parents, I was the parent to them. It was all totally upside-down. So I didn’t know what I was doing. When people would talk to me about parenting, I felt like an outcast,” sharedthe movie star.
The movie star looks upward wearing a straw hat on December 1, 1978. | Source: Getty Images
The actress faced struggles with substance abuse, labeling herself a “party girl” from a young age. At seven, she was adding Baileys to her ice cream. By eight, she was frequenting outings with her mother and friends up to five times a week. At 11, the actress had developed a drinking problem.
The movie star during 3rd Annual Young Musicians Foundation’s Celebrity Mother-Daughter Fashion Show in Beverly Hills, California, on March 8, 1984. | Source: Getty Images
By the time she was 12, she had become a drug addict. A year later, the actress cut her wrists and was hospitalized. Unable to handle the lifestyle, her mother sent her to a psychiatric institution at 13 and visited her occasionally.
The actress has also been nominated for other prestigious awards such as the People’s Choice Awards, Primetime Emmy Awards, and Daytime Emmy Awards. Drew is a producer and director, credited for productions such as “Whip It,” “Santa Clarita Diet,” “Princess Power,” and “How to Be Single.”
arrymore attends The DAILY FRONT ROW “Fashion Los Angeles Awards” Show at Sunset Tower in West Hollywood, California, on January 22, 2015. | Source: Getty Images
Drew, who has changed her life completely for the better, has also not given up on love after her third divorce. She has dipped her toes in the dating world and revealed that she met the person she has been sort of dating for the last few years on “Raya,” a membership-only dating app.
As much as she is exploring the dating scene, Drew emphasized that her main focus remains on her daughters. Drawing from her own experiences growing up in an industry characterized by vanity, the actress hopes to leverage these lessons to become a better parent to her kids.