Inside Drew Barrymore's Sobriety Journey
Drew Barrymore has been sharing her talents with the world since she was a baby, but being one of the most successful child stars of her generation also meant Barrymore lived out personal traumas in the spotlight. After shooting to stardom playing the impossibly cute Gertie in Steven Spielberg's "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" at the age of 7, Barrymore adopted the notorious lifestyle of Hollywood actors when she could still count her age with her fingers. By age 9, Barrymore was partying it out at Studio 54, more often than not under the influence of alcohol and drugs, The Guardian noted.
Barrymore had barely hit puberty when she was sent to rehab the first time. Between 13 and 14, Barrymore attempted suicide and was hospitalized to treat alcohol and drug addiction, the report detailed. She called those 18 months her rock bottom. "It was like serious recruitment training and boot camp, and it was horrible and dark and very long-lived, a year and a half, but I needed it," she told The Guardian.
After filing for emancipation from her parents at age 14, Barrymore slowly began to get her life back on track, giving up drugs completely. "Nothing would make me have a panic attack and seem like a bigger nightmare," Barry said of cocaine on Netflix's "Norm Macdonald Has a Show" (via People) in 2018. Her relationship with alcohol was different, though. Eventually, she gave up that too, an experience about which she is opening up for the first time now.
Drew Barrymore has been sober for 18 months
Drew Barrymore undoubtedly turned her life around after her turbulent childhood and adolescence, but she never managed to give up alcohol — until recently. The actor quit drinking completely around mid-2019, she said on "CBS This Morning" while discussing an upcoming interview she did with Machine Gun Kelly on "The Drew Barrymore Show." "It was something I realized just did not serve me and my life," she said. Barrymore has not talked about her adulthood issues with alcohol publicly, admitting she has "been very private with a lot of my struggles."
Barrymore's decision to become sober came about a year after reports that her friends were worried about her alcohol use, following a March 2018 appearance on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" in which she seemed to be inebriated, according to In Touch Weekly. "They're very concerned about Drew. They fear it's only a matter of time before she crashes and burns," a source told the magazine. In 2020, Barrymore apologized to Cohen for the incident. "I drank too much and I have never forgiven myself, nor will I ever forgive myself," Barrymore said on "The Drew Barrymore Show" (via People).
By that point, Barrymore was already sober, though not many people knew. "This is something I didn't talk to people for years because it was this quiet, confident journey of just going, 'I just want to figure this out and go about this ... quietly and privately,'" she said on "CBS This Morning."
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).