Drew Barrymore has always been a hard worker, a trait that has defined her journey from child star to successful talk show host. Currently at the helm of The Drew Barrymore Show, Barrymore reflects on her early days of independence, notably at the tender age of 14 when she was emancipated from her mother, Jaid Barrymore. Faced with the sudden responsibility of supporting herself, she quickly found herself in search of a job to pay the bills.
Finding Her First Job
In her 2015 memoir, Wildflower, Barrymore shares how she relied on a friend who worked at a coffee shop in the Valley. Since she didn’t have a driver’s license at the time, she had to look for employment nearby. “It was the start of the 1990s, and coffeehouses were where everyone hung out,” she reminisced about her experience working at the popular L.A. coffee spot, the Living Room. “People poured out on to the street every night.”
Learning the Ropes
However, Barrymore was candid about her struggles in this new role, admitting, “I wasn’t great at my job. I wasn’t really great at anything. I had only done two things: acted and had wild life experiences.” She recounts a particularly tense moment with her boss, who had initially hired her under the unconventional idea of having a “washed-up former child actor” behind the counter. While her boss showed patience during her learning curve, he also expressed frustration at her mistakes. She recalls a sharp encounter where he found her washing dishes and exclaimed, “Don’t use the abrasive side of the brush! All the pastry cases are getting scratched and foggy, and you can’t see what’s inside!”
Through these early career trials, Barrymore learned that transitioning from acting to a regular job was not as straightforward as she might have hoped. Yet, her perseverance paved the way for her remarkable journey in Hollywood.
