Drew Barrymore: her repertoire includes that of a successful actress, producer, director, talk show host and entrepreneur. However, before all that, she was a daughter; a daughter that was propelled to fame at an early age. Finding success in acting at the age of 7 through her role as Gertie in the 1982 movie ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’, Barrymore also found herself getting entangled in the dark side of Hollywood, developing a drinking problem at 11, a drug habit at 12 and self-harming tendencies at 13. As a result, Barrymore revealed that she was put into a psychiatric ward.
“I was in a place for a year and a half called Van Nuys Psychiatric, and you couldn’t mess around in there. If you did, you’d get thrown either in the padded room or get put in stretcher restraints and tied up,”
Speaking on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show, the ‘Charlie’s Angels’ star explained the lead up to being institutionalised:
“I was going to clubs and not going to school and stealing my mom’s car and, you know, I was out of control. So, you know, sometimes it was as humorous as that and sometimes I was just so angry that I would go off and then I’d get thrown in the thing (full psychiatric ward),”
Now, looking back, the 46-year-old understands why her mother – Jaid Barrymore – decided to have her sent to the institution. After all, on top of having to grow up in the limelight, her life at home wasn’t the best. Her father, actor John Drew Barrymore, was a violent alcoholic and following her parents’ divorce, her mother took her partying, where she was exposed to drugs and encouraged to dance with famous young men.
“I think she created a monster and she didn’t know what to do with the monster. This was her last gasp, and I really was out of control, and I forgive her for making this choice. She probably felt she had nowhere to turn.”
In retrospect, Barrymore says, “It was the best thing to happen to me, in a sick way, because it cooled me out.” Now, as a mother herself to two young girls, she’s got a different perspective and understanding of her mother.
“We have spent our entire lives trying to figure things out. I feel goodness towards my mum. I feel empathy and understanding. She’s met my kids, but there’s real boundaries and distance and a lot of respect.”
Barrymore went on to share that she had “so much empathy” for Britney Spears in her ongoing conservatorship battle with her father.
“I’m sure that people look on and think, ‘These party girls, these privileges, how dare they have feelings about any of this? They’ve put themselves out there, they’ve asked for this — it’s fair f****** game.’ And I just go, ‘They’re humans. They’re just humans.'”
Watch the full interview here:
*Cover image credit: Instagram / @drewbarrymore