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Drew Barrymore is opening up about her early struggles with addiction and the life-altering experience of entering a rehabilitation facility as a young teenager.
During a deeply personal conversation on The Drew Barrymore Show, the actress, now 50, spoke with comedian and actor Mae Martin, 38, about their shared pasts as "wayward teens" and how being placed in treatment facilities shaped who they are today.
Martin, who uses they/them pronouns, appeared on the show to discuss their new Netflix series Wayward, a mystery drama inspired by the troubled teen industry.
What Is Wayward?
The show follows the story of two girls sent to an isolated institution, based loosely on the experience of Martin’s best friend Nicole, who spent two years in such a facility.
“[Nicole] got sent to one of these troubled teen institutes where they kind of take you in the night and she was gone for two years,” Martin told Barrymore. “When she came back, she had these insane stories about that institution.”
Barrymore responded by revealing her own past experience: “I also was someone who got taken away and put in a place for two years.”
Barrymore has opened up about her past. Credit: Taylor Hill / Getty
The Reality Behind the Troubled Teen Industry
Martin said they were 16 when they entered their respective facility.
“And I don’t know about you,” they said, “but now, as an adult, I feel so protective of young people and having had that experience of being pathologized at a very young age for things that are just kind of… yeah, I think that all went into it.”
Barrymore acknowledged the raw honesty in Wayward, praising how the show captures the painful, yet strangely enlightening experiences inside these institutions.
“Watching the show, there was way too much accuracy,” she said. “It was too real for me, in that element where I knew there was no way you weren’t telling an authentic perspective.”
She continued: “I had a lot of lightness in my experience in the institution. It’s a lot of what this show is. I know that sounds wild, but it was like encouragement to say your truth, to be brave, to find humor and heroism in your journey. And it’s the best thing that ever happened to me, honestly. And I hold a lot of that sacrosanct. But it wasn’t easy. It was hard as hell.”
Barrymore and Mae Martin had a candid chat. Credit: Taylor Hill / Getty
A Hollywood Childhood That Spiraled Early
Barrymore’s troubled past is no secret. Catapulted to stardom at just seven years old following her breakout role in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, she began drinking at age 11 and was using drugs by 12.
Her mother, Jaid Barrymore, sent her to a rehabilitation facility at age 13, where she remained for 18 months receiving treatment for drug and alcohol addiction.
In a 2015 interview with The Guardian, Barrymore said her younger self “really was alone” and described the period as “terrible.” She recalled: “It was a really rebellious time. I would run off. I was very, very angry.”
She also reflected: “My mom locked me up in an institution. Boo hoo! But it did give an amazing discipline. It was like serious recruitment training and boot camp, and it was horrible and dark and very long-lived, a year and a half, but I needed it. I needed that whole insane discipline. My life was not normal.
“I was not a kid in school with normal circumstances. There was something very abnormal, and I needed some severe shift,” she added.
Drew Barrymore. Credit: Steven Ferdman / Getty
Legal Emancipation and a New Beginning
Following her release from the facility, Barrymore legally emancipated herself from her parents—a step that was recommended by the institution, she previously told The Guardian.
“We emancipated,” she said. “We separated after that. I legally became an adult.
“I came out of [the institution as] a more respecting person. And my parents didn’t teach me that, and life wasn’t teaching me that. I came out in a very different way... but I still was me.”
During her chat with Martin, Barrymore reflected on how her story has continued to evolve: “I thought I’d hit rock bottom” when she was institutionalized at 13, she said, before joking: “Turns out I hit it at 40 as well.”
If you or someone you know is battling addiction, please reach out for help and contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA's) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (1-800-662-4357) or go to https://findtreatment.gov/