Drew Barrymore Dishes On Child Stardom On ‘The Drew Barrymore Show’: “I Went To Work At 11 Months Old, So I Was Paying Rent At 6”

Drew Barrymore revealed on this morning’s episode of The Drew Barrymore Show the one life skill her parents neglected to teach her.

Throughout the entire episode — which was appropriately titled the “Nifty Thrifty Show” — Barrymore explored numerous ways people can save money. During one segment, she welcomed a financial health expert from Chase Bank to dish some of her own budgeting tips.

“I don’t about you, but I didn’t grow up talking about money at home. We didn’t grow up talking about money around the dinner table,” the guest told Barrymore. “I didn’t get any great financial tips so it was really important to me when I got into the industry to help people make smart decisions about money.”

The 50 First Dates star, who began attending auditions as an infant, then chimed in with her own experience.

“I’m totally intimidated because I didn’t grow up with that family that’s like, ‘Here’s how you do it.’ I’m like, ‘Ahhhh!'” she said. “I went to work at 11 months old, so I was paying rent at 6 and was buying the car, so it’s been a journey. Getting on top of that fear and conquering it by learning is for me what it’s all about.”

(Editor’s Note: The Drew Barrymore Show is on hiatus; contrary to what you may have heard, The Drew Barrymore Show was not canceled. This article was originally published on Oct. 26, 2023 when this episode first aired.)

Barrymore wasn’t exaggerating! She starred in a dog food commercial just before her first birthday, before making her film debut in Ken Russell’s Altered States at only five years old. Just two short years later, Barrymore became a household name when she starred as Gertie in Steven Spielberg‘s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

While she was thrust into fame at a young age, the star has never shied away from shedding light on her troublesome upbringing.

“I got emancipated at 14 and got my first apartment and got away from it,” she said on a recent episode of The Drew Barrymore Show. “I was in an institution for two years. I was like, ‘I’ve got to get away from this and I’ve got to go find my path somewhere else.’ I had to take care of myself so young.”

She added, “My biggest thing that I would like to put to bed finally is to stop being angry and disappointed and so critical of the way I parented myself. But I had no other choice because I had to.”

We’re happy to see her thriving these days!

The Drew Barrymore Show airs on weekdays on CBS. You can check the website for local airtimes.