Drew Barrymore has made no secret of her wild child ways. She began drinking heavily at 11 and abusing drugs at 12 because, as she told Daily Mail, “I didn’t have parents, I was the parent to them.” Drew’s relationship with her party-loving mother, actor Jaid Barrymore, fell apart when she became her momager. Meanwhile, her connection with her dad, actor John Drew Barrymore, was fraught from the beginning. In 2022, Drew told “The Shop: Uninterrupted,” “My dad was a drug addict and he didn’t wear shoes and he was really crazy, but like, awesome.” She appreciated his mystique but soon realized, “Oh, this guy’s not capable of s***, so let’s just love him for who he is and not expect anything from him.” Indeed, she didn’t rely on either parent and, at 14, was emancipated by the courts.
John was the son of legendary actor John Barrymore and struggled to be taken seriously in Hollywood. He turned to alcohol and drugs and was repeatedly arrested, according to the Los Angeles Times, for everything from DUI to abusing his first wife. Drew reflected on their relationship in a 2020 Instagram post, calling him “a mad poet hedonist man child” and admitting, “I think I would have liked to have a dad who didn’t look so out there. Or who stayed. Or was capable of anything really.” When John was diagnosed with cancer, they reconciled and Drew took care of him for three years until his death in 2004.
Read Related Also: Watch Kim Kardashian accidentally whack Kylie Jenner in the gut with a golf club
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
