Tragic Details About Drew Barrymore's Health

Drew Barrymore's bubbly personality, paired with her multi-decade entertainment career, starting with her pivotal role in the Steven Spielberg-directed film, "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," makes it hard to forget the struggles she's endured. However, the fact is that Barrymore, who has faced plenty of tragedy, has lived through lows just as impactful as her illustrious career — including issues with her health. Fortunately, not every ailment that looked like it might manifest in the actor and talk show host's life came to pass, but that didn't make the experience any less frightening. For example, Barrymore opened up about her breast cancer scare during an episode of "The Drew Barrymore Show."

While interviewing Tig Notaro, a producer and breast cancer survivor on her talk show, Barrymore opened up about her own health scare. "This is the thing I've wanted to risk talking about at this show because — I recently had a scare," she admitted. "I'm completely fine, but I did get a bad mammogram and I got taken into that room and then I had an emergency biopsy and I waited those 5 days." Barrymore, who thankfully did not end up having breast cancer, also shared with Notaro, who was promoting a documentary about Andrea Gibson's encounter with terminal cervical cancer, that her documentary helped her to figure out how to talk about this "tough" subject. "But, having seen your documentary, I feel like I might be able to start scratching the surface here because of what you guys were brave enough, bold enough, and smart enough to put out into the world, which is clearly being embraced, so I think that also gives us a little more confidence," she said.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the end of Barrymore's health woes.

In November 2025, Drew Barrymore opened up to People about her experience with hormone therapy, which didn't exactly go as planned, leaving her feeling insecure. "Everyone said it would be trial and error, and I just went through a lot of error," Barrymore revealed. "I did not recognize the person I saw in the mirror. I was like, 'Is that the crypt keeper? No, that's me,'" she said. Unfortunately, the therapy affected the actor's skin, causing her to look "puffy from hormones." However, Barrymore, with the help of her therapist, Dr. Barry Michels, eventually figured out how to combat its effects by incorporating light exercise on the walking pad, prioritizing healthier food, and getting up 10 minutes earlier to help her mornings with her kids run smoother. She also invested in a self-care routine, which included giving herself manicures and taking care of her skin.

Barrymore, who's been open about her sobriety journey over the years, has also spoken openly about how it impacted her mental health. In March 2025, while speaking with Us Weekly about her substance use, which started when she was a young child star, Barrymore opened up about what she's learned as she's embraced sober living. "I think I was focused on the substances, but what finally hit me in my early forties was that I needed to focus on the behavior," Barrymore revealed. "That was the big revelation to me. My behavior being: I wanted to escape my pain, numb my pain, feel the highs of the invincibility of what alcohol did for me, when I didn't realize the chemical warfare that it was causing the next day and the next day." Fortunately, Barrymore has turned her life around. As of write time, the "Charlie's Angels" star has been sober for over half a decade.