Drew Barrymore Reveals How It Was Growing Up With An Absentee Father

Growing up with a parent who is never there for you, or just present but never present when it matters in your life, is a very tough thing for anyone to experience. It’s bound to have an effect on the child no matter how hard they try to cover it and act like it’s okay. It leaves a mark/scar in their heart that nothing can fill up except the person in question set things right.

Now, it’s not news that Drew Barrymore has a very difficult relationship with both her parents, especially her dad. It’s also not news that her experience growing up in that kind of family messed her up emotionally. Drew is finally opening up to talk about her childhood experiences with her family.

Drew Barrymore — About Her Absentee Father

During a recent conversation with Uninterrupted’s The Shop series, Drew discussed with some of her fellow actors how her life with an absentee dad had been.

Drew was raised solely by her mother Jaid Barrymore, Drew’s Dad John Barrymore actually came from a long line of actors but somehow, John never towed the same career path with his family. Anyways, according to Drew, John was rarely at home, he was a drug addict who goes barefoot. She attributed her early acting career to having come from a great line of historic actors. It’s sort of genetics.

Due to her dad’s abuse of drugs, Drew described him as being “Crazy” but said John’s craziness wasn’t the usual type, she compared it to that of “Gollum meets Oscar Wilde on drugs.” Drew also thinks her dad is cool but at a very young age, she has already decided that John wasn’t worthy to be a father.

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Drew Barrymore — Messed Up Childhood

While growing up and being raised by her mother whose relationship with her dad was an “on and off relationship,” she began her acting career at a very young age, as young as five years old. Due to her absent father, when she was barely 13 years old, Drew’s mom Jaid began taking Drew to nightclubs where Drew was exposed to alcohol and drugs.

When Drew turned 13, it became so violent that she attempted to throw Jaid out of the house but was unsuccessful. She was sent to a rehab center to get well at that young age.

Before John Barrymore died in 2004 at age 72, Drew made an attempt to be on good terms with her parents. While her dad was critically ill, Drew personally took care of her dad and paid his hospital bills too.

Be sure to catch up on everything happening with Drew Barrymore right now. Come back here often for all the Drew Barrymore’s spoilers, news, and updates.

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