Drew Barrymore recalls being 'blacklisted at 12' amid drug addiction battle
Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore has opened up about her past struggles in showbiz and how it shook her confidence for decades to come
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Hollywood star Drew Barrymore has candidly opened up about being "blacklisted" by Hollywood movie studios at the age of just 12.
She'd made her on-screen debut at seven, appearing in Steven Spielberg's timeless classic E.T.
And the cinema-going audience loved the child star, especially after an adorable appearance of Johnny Carson's talk show.
But Drew experienced a darker side to fame at a very young age - in the past, she's spoken about having her first drink at nine, trying marijuana at 10 and taking up cocaine at 12.
By the time of her 13th birthday, she'd undergone drug rehabilitation twice#, sent by mum Jaid.
At at the age of 14, she tried to take her own life.
Drew says she never had a strong relationship with dad John, who walked out on her and Jaid when Drew was nine.
Her early teens saw her legally emancipated from her parents, and she moved into a flat in West Hollywood at 15, taking up waitressing.
Now 45, the star managed to get back on her feet, beat addiction and went on to forge an impressive film career, with 60 films under her belt including hits like Charlie's Angels.
And she's even landed her own talk show, telling The Sun : "I don't know how I ended up here but I will never lose sight of how lucky I am.
"Being blacklisted at 12, I appreciate every job I have."
She added that the blow to her confidence as a child has reverberated through the years, so much so that she was worried no celebs would want to come on her show.
"I'm honoured anyone will come on the show," she added, "I'm not an assuming person.
"I've been in this industry my whole life but I'm just as excited to be around people of note as anyone would be."
She's also a big-time producer, but her greatest achievement, she says, is motherhood of her two daughters, Olive, seven and Frankie, six.
"When you have your kids, it's different," she remarked, "You get asked to be the best version of yourself and that was something I didn't take lightly.
"I struggle, I fail and one of the most important things I want to teach my own kids — and myself as I grow with them — is that change is so important, change in the world and change in yourself."
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