Drew Barrymore is an American actress, producer, director, author, model and entrepreneur. She is a member of the Barrymore family of actors, which includes her grandfather John Barrymore and great-grandfather Lionel Barrymore. She made her screen debut in Altered States (1980) and quickly became one of Hollywood's most recognizable child actresses due to her starring role in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). After appearing in a string of comedies and dramas throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, including Poison Ivy (1992), Boys on the Side (1995) and Mad Love (1995), she re-invented herself as a leading lady in such films as The Wedding Singer (1998), Never Been Kissed (1999) and Charlie's Angels (2000).
Barrymore was born into a showbiz family on February 22, 1975, in Culver City, California. Her mother was actress Jaid Barrymore; her father was actor John Drew Barrymore Jr., who died of cancer when she was nine years old. As a youngster growing up in Hollywood, Drew often accompanied her parents to movie sets and later appeared with them in an episode of the sitcomCharles In Charge. After attending private schools for girls—firstWildflower Schooland then Notre Dame High School—she briefly enrolled at New York University before dropping out to pursue acting full time.