Drew Barrymore, Acting Legend

Drew Barrymore has been a huge Hollywood star for decades, but she is only in her forties. She has been in some of the biggest films, but also in some cult classics. Let's take a look at Drew and her fabulous career.

Drew's full name is Drew Blythe Barrymore. She is the daughter of John Drew Barrymore and Jaid Barrymore.

Drew comes from a long line of actors. Her grandfather, John Barrymore, was considered one of the best actors of all time.

Drew got her first name from her paternal great-grandmother, Georgie Drew Barrymore. Her middle name, Blythe, is the original family name from generations ago.

Drew's first job was in a dog food commercial. She was only 11 months old.

Barrymore's first film was "Altered States" (1980). It was a big hit, but Drew only had a small role. She was, after all, only five.

Her next role big role, though, came only a year later, and it was truly out-of-this-world. Drew played Gertie in "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial." It was directed by her real-life godfather, Steven Spielberg.

"E.T" was a huge hit, one of the highest-grossing films of all time. Drew was on her way after that.

A few years later, Drew starred in "Irreconcilable Differences," for which she won a Golden Globe nomination.

It was around this time that Drew started getting her name in the press for the wrong reasons. She was said to be in rehab for drug issues associated with a partying lifestyle. She was emancipated from her mother at age 14.

Drew also reportedly spent eighteen months in a mental institution.

Drew wrote about all this in her first autobiography, "Little Girl Lost," and also in her late autobiography "Wildflower," so it is not as though it was just a media concoction.

Drew's acting career continued with many smaller, independent films. One example was "Far From Home," in which she played a girl stranded with her father in the desert.

As she moved into her late teens, Drew's roles began to get sexier. In "Poison Ivy" (1992), she played a manipulative teenage seductress. It is considered a cult classic.

Drew also posed nude in (and on the cover of) "Interview" magazine in July 1992. Clearly, Drew was not a shy girl.

Drew had breast reduction surgery in 1992, too. The year was a major turning point for her.

In 1993, Drew starred in "Guncrazy." She won another Golden Globe nomination for the role.

Barrymore posed nude again in the January 1995 issue of Playboy.

Drew had a famous moment around that time when she appeared on the Letterman show for his birthday and flashed him while standing on his desk. It is still considered one of the funkier moments of the entire history of that show.

Drew did some modelling work, too. She was jeans ads for Guess? in the late '90s.

One of Drew's higher-profile roles was in "Batman Forever" (1995), when she had a cameo as Sugar.

Another popular film in which she made a cameo appearance was "Scream." These films all made a ton of money, of course, which kept Drew at the top of the Hollywood heap.

In 2000, Drew turned to television and received an Emmy nomination for "Olive, the Other Reindeer."

"Charlies Angels" and its successful sequels further cemented Drew's status as a leading lady.

From there on out, Drew could pick and choose her roles. Some of her popular films were "50 First Dates" (2004), "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," "He's Just Not That Into You," and "Grey Gardens."

Drew has turned to Netflix, as have many other stars, and is set to star in "Santa Clarita Diet."

Drew also has done some directing. She directed Ellen Page in "Whip It" (2009), which starred Ellen Page.

Drew has had a well-chronicled series of relationships over the decades. She married Will Kopelman on 6 June 2012, and the have two daughter, Olive Barrymore Kopelman and Frankie Barrymore Kopelman. They announced that they were divorcing early in 2016 and released this statement:

"Sadly our family is separating legally, although we do not feel this takes away from us being a family," the pair said in their statement. "Divorce might make one feel like a failure, but eventually you start to find grace in the idea that life goes on. 

"Our children are our universe, and we look forward to living the rest of our lives with them as the first priority."

They live in New York.

2016