Drew Barrymore Is in Her Happiness Era: ‘If You Really Love Something, Fight For It’

The talk show host and actress opened up about the ‘best’ decade of her life and what’s up next.

Drew Barrymore poses at Lea Michele’s first performance in “Funny Girl” on Broadway.Bruce Glikas/Getty Images

Drew Barrymore landed her first leading role in the 1982 classic E.T.: The Extraterrestrial. She was just 7 years old when she was thrust into the spotlight, marking the beginning of an unorthodox childhood in Hollywood.

Now, at 47, she is sharing her secrets, dishing on what’s next and, most importantly, on how she is entering her happiness era.

“As a kid and even in my 20s and 30s, happiness seemed like this very giddy, excited optimism,” she told People, saying she now knows that you have to actively choose happiness. “You have to work for that. It is hard to get to some days. And so when you’ve harnessed it, that feels like such a better victory.” 

If you’re lucky enough to find it, she continued, you better “hold on tight.”

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As her talk show, The Drew Barrymore Show, enters its third season and the 50 First Dates star begins her next chapter, she wants to maintain her status as a producer.

“Since I was 19, I’ve had to listen to criticism and studio heads and executives. I’ve always been at the table hearing all the hard stuff,” she explained. “I’ve built an ability to be objective and listen to it. There’s just an amount that you’re allowed to boo-hoo and take personally. If you really love something, fight for it.”

Barrymore admits she’s not a fan of the word “self-care,” and putting herself first is a somewhat of a foreign concept to the Flower Beauty founder. One of her New Year’s resolution is to be more patient, but for now she’s loving being a mom and is proud to have found a job that both challenges and fulfills her curiosity.

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Her two daughters, Olive, 10, and Frankie, 8, whom she shares with ex-husband Will Kopelman, are a priority. She dabbles in dating, but as a triple threat (actor, host and entrepreneur), it’s not something she feels “pressure” to do. Rather, it’s just something she does “because it’s a very human, natural thing.” Another part of being human—walking into a date and thinking, “Oh my God, why did I say yes to dinner? Because we haven’t ordered yet, and I don’t want to be here.”

“This has been the best decade of my life, without question,” she added. “It wasn’t just the most awesome, it was the one where I feel like I’ve slayed more dragons than I ever have in my whole life.”

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