EXCLUSIVE: Drew Barrymore's Most Emotional Interview Yet – With Tortured 'E.T.' Star Opening Up About How She's 'Finally Happy' at 50 After Her Life Was Almost Snuffed Out By Drink and Drug Addictions
Drew Barrymore says she has finally found happiness late in life after her torturous years of addictions.
March 18 2025, Published 8:00 a.m. ET
Drew Barrymore has had more ups and downs than a roller coaster, but she has learned a lot of life lessons during her 50 years on Earth – and now finally found inner joy after years of addiction nightmares, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Born into a famous showbiz family, Drew earned her own celebrity as one of Hollywood's most beloved child stars at age 7 in 1982's E.T.
She has survived a lifetime of trials and tribulations, emerging as the warm, wise and open host of her own talk show and center square in the reboot of the game show Hollywood Squares, of which she is an executive producer.
Raised by single mom Jaid Barrymore, Barrymore navigated fame alongside mentors such as Steven Spielberg.
"I don't think I've ever known a happiness that I feel now," Barrymore confided. "I just didn't know I would ever get here."
Looking back over the years, the actress-turned-chat show queen, added her "most challenging" decades – her teens and her 40s – "were my absolute favorites."
Raised by single mom Jaid and achieving early stardom, she revealed: "I don't feel like I had a childhood. Not feeling like I had a childhood has nothing to do with feeling robbed of one."
Because of her fame, Barrymore was able to go to clubs at age 7, started drinking alcohol at 9, and was using cocaine at 12 – all because no one told her not to.
But E.T. director Steven Spielberg tried.
Barrymore credits Steven Spielberg as one of the key figures in her journey to sobriety.
"Steven was like a dad," Barrymore recalled. "I was getting an opportunity to meet a safe male who I looked up to and admired so much. He was very parental with me. He felt very protective of me, and I felt that from him, and it felt so good to get that care."
At age 13, she entered rehab – and at the age of 14, penned her first memoir, Little Girl Lost.
She said: "It's a very positive decade for me. That was also where I was like, I got to be accountable and responsible."
The star's 20s were filled with career success, making hits like Scream, The Wedding Singer, Charlie's Angels and Fever Pitch, with Jimmy Fallon.
Barrymore has built up a loyal group of pals including Lucy Liu, left, and Cameron Diaz.
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Domestic life took center stage in Barrymore's 30s – she married art consultant Will Kopelman and had their two daughters, Olive, 12, and 10-year-old Frankie.
But her 40s were like the month of March they came in like a lion and went out like a lamb. Barrymore decided to quit drinking at age 44 and was hit hard by her divorce from Kopelman.
With her new career success and learning to live single, Barrymore also revealed as she heads into her 50s after celebrating hitting her milestone half-century on February 22: "I'm actually happy."
