Drew Barrymore Reflects on Being Body Shamed and Told She Was ‘Too Heavy’ When She Was 10

In February 2025, Barrymore opened up exclusively to Us Weekly about her childhood and troubled past.

“My mom had a very colorful cast of characters coming through,” she recalled. “It wasn’t as safe as it should have been — but when I was younger, it was more whimsical. Not feeling like I had a childhood has nothing to do with feeling robbed of [one]. It just wasn’t your garden-variety youthful childhood, but I never feel upset about that.”

Barrymore also shared that she experienced a notable lack of rules and boundaries at the time.

“The whole concept of ‘no’ made me really rebellious,” she added. “As if it didn’t apply to me. ‘No’ made me angry, but it turns out ‘no’ is essential and has incredible benefits. It can make you feel a lot more safe and cared for, even if you hate it at the time. It means someone or something is holding you.”

Barrymore ultimately went to rehab to seek support for her addiction struggles at age 14 and reflected on the experience during an October 2025 episode of The Drew Barrymore Show.

“I also was someone who got taken away and put in a place for two years,” Barrymore said about her experience as a teen in a drug rehab facility, adding that getting help was “the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Barrymore added that she has moved on from the past and things are much better for her now.

“We pull ourselves up, hopefully, and we find people that encourage us to tell the truth and to finally have the opposite of shame, which is what comes with any type of erratic behavior or society telling you ‘that’s not appropriate at this age’ or ‘what you’re doing is out of control,” she said. ”That is shame. And when you live with shame, it is crippling.”