Drew Barrymore's tragic childhood story

"I tried alcohol when I was 9, started smoking marijuana when I was 10, and when I was 12, I took cocaine." These are Drew Barrymore's own words in her biography 'Little Girl Lost' (1990). A child actress from Culver City, California, she had been in the news nearly all of her life.

To talk about Drew Barrymore's life is to talk about a tragic past. Daughter of a former Hungarian refugee (her mum) and and an actor's son (John Drew Barrymore), the actress did not know how to handle the success that came when she was barely 4 years old.

After a couple of minor film roles, Drew Barrymore became a star at age 8 with the role of Gertie in 'E.T.'  Awards, photo shoots, parties... a new world opened up to little Drew.

"When Drew Barrymore's acting career took off," the book 'Little Girl Lost' recalls, "all the doors opened for her. Including those in the nightclubs where she soon became a party girl who desperately tried to keep up with her older fellow partygoers."

"She drank and used drugs, sometimes to the point of fainting. When she was 13, she went to a rehabilitation clinic to rebuild her self-esteem," the book recounts.

Drew Barrymore soon realized she was alone in life. "Her mother forced her into a psychiatric clinic," Vogue reports. "During her stay, she received only a few visits from her parents. She would be legally separated from them after she left the clinic."

When she left the clinic, she legally emancipated herself from her parents. "The experts thought she'd be better off alone," El Mundo concluded after interviewing Drew Barrymore. "It was a very important experience", adds the actress. "A lesson in humility."

What happened to Drew Barrymore after she passed through the rehab center? Well, the phone just stopped ringing. "Barrymore was forced to work as a waitress and cleaning servant," Vogue reports.

There were castings and more castings for a young teenage girl who, after being a star in her childhood, now seemed to have been forgotten forever by film directors.

In those years there were a couple of minor roles in low-budget films such as 'A Conspiracy of Love,' 'See You in the Morning,' and  'Far from Home.'

However, in the 90s her luck on the big screen changed completely.

In 1992 she co-starred in the TV show 'Guncrazy' which earned her a Golden Globe nomination.

In 1994, success came with 'Bad Girls,' a film in which she shared the poster with stars like Madeleine Stowe, Mary Stuart Masterson and Andie MacDowell.

And in 1996 she signed one of her most memorable roles in 'Scream.' Drew Barrymore had come back for good.

On a personal level, Drew got married in 1994, when she was 19 years old. The groom was Jeremy Thomas, owner of a bar, but they broke up after three months of living together.

Also at the age of 19, Drew Barrymore posed for Playboy magazine in very suggestive photos. Director Steven Spielberg reacted to the publication with the gift of a long Scottish skirt and a note saying "Cover Up." Drew revealed this funny incident to Vogue.

Together with her great friend Nancy Juvonen, Drew founded the production company Flower Films and became a queen of the so-called romantic comedy. 'Never Been Kissed' is a clear example of this.

Little by little, Drew Barrymore saw the pieces of her life puzzle fit together. And one of her greatest successes in the world of cinema was yet to come...

Charlie's Angels became a big hit. Along with Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore rose to the top.

She remarried in 2001, this time with actor Tom Green. However, their marriage lasted only a year. In 2002 they split up.

After her breakup, the actress further boosted her professional career. 'Donnie Darko', '50 First Dates' and 'Grey Gardens' are some of her successes from that time.

(In the photo, with Amy Pascal and Adam Sandler at the premiere of '50 First Dates')

For the latter film, 'Grey Gardens', Barrymore received some of the best reviews of her film career. In fact, she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in Miniseries or Telefilms for the role of Edith Bouvier Beale.

The actress seemed to have left behind her tragic past full of shadows.

And all this together with her (then) partner: the actor Justin Long. She was with him from 2007 to 2010.

In June 2012 she married William Kopelman. Three months later, her first daughter, Olive Barrymore Kopelman, was born. In April 2014, she had a second daughter, Frankie.

In April 2016, Drew Barrymore and William Kopelman announced their separation "due to irreconcilable differences."

"Divorce may seem like a failure," the actress said in an interview with People, "but over time you learn that life has to go on."

"Our family is legally separated, but this does not mean in any way that we cease to be a family," she says.

And there were plenty of reasons to smile for Drew Barrymore. For one, a new series was waiting around the corner. 'Santa Clarita Diet' (Netflix) premiered in 2017. Drew Barrymore brought to life the happy Sheila Hammond who, overnight, became a 'living dead' with a most peculiar diet.

After three seasons, Netflix cancelled 'Santa Clarita Diet.' The girl from 'E.T.' was once again searching for success.

In the meantime, however, Drew Barrymore had become a mature, curious, and entertaining woman. She could carry the weight of her own talk show: the Drew Barrymore Show on CBS. It's been going on for two seasons now.

Of course, the past always is in the back of her mind. Drew Barrymore has gotten questions about it in various interviews.

"On occasion I have been stunned by the question: 'What will you do when your children Google you? And I think: God, how accusatory," the actress said to El Mundo.

"I'm not going to pretend to be who I'm not. I'm open to show how I got here," she added.

"I really lived and did what I wanted, when I wanted. It was liberating. I wasn't a nun who went to sleep at 10:00 at night. I had a good time!"