Drew Barrymore Shares Regret Over 'Chaste'PlayboyPhotos at Age 19: 'Never Knew There Would Be an Internet'

Mar. 15, 2025

Bruce Glikas/WireImage

Drew Barrymoreis looking back on herPlayboycover with a new perspective, nearly 30 years later.As part of alengthy and “very vulnerable” message on Instagramthat she titled “PHONE HOME” (a nod to her 1982 breakout movieE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), the actress, 49, recalled posing for the magazine shortly before her 20th birthday, for its January 1995 issue.Giving context, Barrymorewrote in the postshe shared on Friday, Aug. 30, “I was around plenty of hedonistic scenarios at parties and even in my own home where the viewing was of highly sensitive natures and caused me tremendous shame.““We, as kids, are not meant to see these images,” she continued. “And, yes, I was even a big exhibitionist when I was young due to these environments I was in. I thought of it as art, and I still do not judge it.““But when I did a chaste artistic moment inPlayboyin my early 20s, I thought it would be a magazine that was unlikely to resurface because it was paper,” Barrymore added. “I never knew there would be an internet. I didn’t know so many things.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.Drew Barrymore circa 1997.Victor Malafronte/Hulton Archive/GettyTheDrew Barrymore Showhost went on to recall how she “was emancipated at 14 years old and moved into my first apartment,” and as a result, felt like she “started my life over on my own terms.““But in a consistent message to myself, I found that there was no one to take care of me,” she wrote. “Myown mother waslambasted for allowing me to get so out of control. I have so much empathy for her now, because I am a mother. And none of us is perfect.“Barrymore said she and her mom “chose to invite in a world of privilege with the work I was doing,” calling her breakout inE.T.“a powerful thing to be brought into the world” with.“Since then, I was lucky enough to start engaging with people. I have never stopped,” said theWildflowerauthor. “I marvel at how kind people have been to me in my life. And I want to give that goodness right back in reciprocity. We have all grown up together, and we are still growing.“The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!Drew Barrymore’s Instagram post.drew barrymore/InstagramBefore diving into specifics of why she isn’t ready for her daughters —Olive, 12, andFrankie, 10 —to have smartphones yet, Barrymore cited “texts [that] can get so toxic,” questioning how kids can be expected to be okay in these scenarios while reflecting on her own childhood.“I messed up in public when I was 13, and people were shocked,” she wrote. “I was on the cover of theNational Enquirerand every other magazine as a washed-up tragedy. And I thought that would be my narrative forever. I wanted to disappear from the planet and never show my face again.“But instead, “I put one foot in front of the other and put my life back on track, only to make more mistakes along the way, but that is life,” theWedding Singeractress continued. “We make mistakes. And people have been so kind to me. Forgiven me. And cheered me on as I grew up.““So yeah, it is also my karma and life’s work to cheer people on right back!” Barrymore added. “We all fall and rise. Over and over. Life’s roller coaster. And what a beautiful ride it is.”

Drew Barrymoreis looking back on herPlayboycover with a new perspective, nearly 30 years later.

As part of alengthy and “very vulnerable” message on Instagramthat she titled “PHONE HOME” (a nod to her 1982 breakout movieE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), the actress, 49, recalled posing for the magazine shortly before her 20th birthday, for its January 1995 issue.

Giving context, Barrymorewrote in the postshe shared on Friday, Aug. 30, “I was around plenty of hedonistic scenarios at parties and even in my own home where the viewing was of highly sensitive natures and caused me tremendous shame.”

“We, as kids, are not meant to see these images,” she continued. “And, yes, I was even a big exhibitionist when I was young due to these environments I was in. I thought of it as art, and I still do not judge it.”

“But when I did a chaste artistic moment inPlayboyin my early 20s, I thought it would be a magazine that was unlikely to resurface because it was paper,” Barrymore added. “I never knew there would be an internet. I didn’t know so many things.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

Drew Barrymore circa 1997.Victor Malafronte/Hulton Archive/Getty

Victor Malafronte/Hulton Archive/Getty

TheDrew Barrymore Showhost went on to recall how she “was emancipated at 14 years old and moved into my first apartment,” and as a result, felt like she “started my life over on my own terms.”

“But in a consistent message to myself, I found that there was no one to take care of me,” she wrote. “Myown mother waslambasted for allowing me to get so out of control. I have so much empathy for her now, because I am a mother. And none of us is perfect.”

Barrymore said she and her mom “chose to invite in a world of privilege with the work I was doing,” calling her breakout inE.T.“a powerful thing to be brought into the world” with.

“Since then, I was lucky enough to start engaging with people. I have never stopped,” said theWildflowerauthor. “I marvel at how kind people have been to me in my life. And I want to give that goodness right back in reciprocity. We have all grown up together, and we are still growing.”

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

Drew Barrymore’s Instagram post.drew barrymore/Instagram

drew barrymore/Instagram

Before diving into specifics of why she isn’t ready for her daughters —Olive, 12, andFrankie, 10 —to have smartphones yet, Barrymore cited “texts [that] can get so toxic,” questioning how kids can be expected to be okay in these scenarios while reflecting on her own childhood.

“I messed up in public when I was 13, and people were shocked,” she wrote. “I was on the cover of theNational Enquirerand every other magazine as a washed-up tragedy. And I thought that would be my narrative forever. I wanted to disappear from the planet and never show my face again.”

But instead, “I put one foot in front of the other and put my life back on track, only to make more mistakes along the way, but that is life,” theWedding Singeractress continued. “We make mistakes. And people have been so kind to me. Forgiven me. And cheered me on as I grew up.”

“So yeah, it is also my karma and life’s work to cheer people on right back!” Barrymore added. “We all fall and rise. Over and over. Life’s roller coaster. And what a beautiful ride it is.”

source: people.com