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Drew Barrymore has always been one of the most beloved actresses in Hollywood for some time. Most recently she is starring in her own amazing talk show (which they rightly pay her a ton of money for) but her days at Studio 54 when she was just 11 years old are some of her least talked about. However, recent interviews with the actor have revealed that her experiences at the infamous club were anything but positive.
The story starts when Barrymore's mother, Jaid Barrymore, took her to the club in 1979. Although many have romanticized Studio 54 as a place of glamour and excess, it was actually a place where substances were rampant and underage children could be exploited. For Drew, this meant being harassed and subjected to inappropriate behavior by adults at the club - an experience that left a lasting impression.
How Did Drew Barrymore Get Started In Acting
Drew is a member of the legendary Barrymore family, and was born in California in 1975. John Drew Barrymore, Drew's father, had a fruitful acting career behind him as well as three ex-wives and multiple arrests for illegal substances.
John Barrymore, Drew's grandfather was regarded as the greatest actor of his time, yet both John and John Drew battled terrible addictions. Drew's parents divorced not long after she was born, and from that moment on, her dad was essentially absent from her life. Drew’s mother was a wild child herself, who had no understanding of maternal responsibilities.
Drew began acting at a young age thanks to her family's affiliations, and her first film role was in Ken Russell's body horror movie Altered States from the 1980s. However, it was when she was cast as Gertie in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, that she was propelled to international stardom.
E.T. would come to be one of the most significant roles of that decade, as well as introduce Drew to Stephen Spielberg, who she would later refer to as a father figure and who would go on to become her godfather.
Did Drew Barrymore Go To Rehab When She Was 13?
The mother-of-two previously disclosed that her first experience with alcohol was at the age of nine, that she started dabbling in substances at ten, and that she started using much stronger substances at the age of twelve.
By the age of 11, Drew and her mother were regularly spotted at the famed New York nightclub Studio 54. She has opened up about it saying, her mother asked "Do you want to go to Studio 54 or go to school and be bullied?"
While it was posed as a question, Drew felt there was only one answer; Studio 54. She didn’t really care to be around other children anyway, because they were mean, and they did bully her. So, Drew began going out with her mother and her mother's friends, including Billy Idol, at least five times a week to nightclubs.
Again, she is 11, clubbing nearly every night, doing everything the adults did. Drew has said that her mother didn’t allow her to have sugar, but adult beverages and other substances were fine. It should be noted, Drew has silenced the rumors of negative adult male interactions at Studio 54.
Claiming she was “scrappy” and nobody messed with her like that. Eventually, being just 13, she could no longer keep up with the grownups, and at the age of 13, her mother sent her to rehab. Unfortunately for Drew, like a lot of others, her stint in rehab didn’t fix anything. Within six months she was back at it, and so depressed over everything she even inflicted self-harm.
Her mother and she drifted apart further and further, and finally, her mom admitted her to an inpatient mental health facility where she stayed for over a year. It wasn’t a luxury facility where she spent all day at a spa either. While the children’s psychiatric department was shut down; Van Nuys Behavioral Health Center is still up and running.
Drew knows her time there was necessary saying, “It was a very important thing to experience for me. It was very humbling, very quieting. Maybe it was necessary, because I came out of there a more respectful person. And my parents didn’t teach me that, and life wasn’t teaching me that. I came out in a very different way, but I still was me.”
Did Drew Barrymore Divorce Her Mom?
The treatment facility advised that Drew's best course of action would be emancipation from her mother. At the age of 14, Drew undertook the radical step, divorcing her mother and becoming legally recognized as an adult.
In an interview with The Guardian, Drew said, "On the day of my hearing, my mother was there in full support of my emancipation, which would mean me living on my own. I felt so sad, but too much had happened. The judge walked in and the day went on in a blur."
The newly self-sufficient 14-year-old was unfortunately ridiculed in Hollywood. The casting directors would make fun of her and laugh right in her face for even showing up at auditions. Being 14 and feeling like your life has come full circle with you ending up in a dumpster fire cannot be easy, but Drew was determined to make something of herself. By 17 she was back in action. She went on to make 17 movies within the following six years. Not to mention, at 20 she and Nancy Juvonen started Flower Films where she began to produce movies as well as act in them, like 1999’s Never Been Kissed.
Alas, Drew Barrymore became a mother herself. She has two daughters of her own, and her priorities have changed. The roles she considers are smaller, and she has her talk show. She loves her life, she loves being a mom, and she plans on not letting her daughters get into the business at a young age like she did. Even if they hate her for it in the beginning, she can personally attest to the fact that they will thank her in the long run.
