Drew Barrymore from abuse to rebirth: « At 50 years now I am at peace, but my children have not understood et, it is actually frightening »

Dark blue long dress, despite the heat that takes your breath in Miami. A thread of makeup, the unmistakable smile, then a gesture with the index to invite you to approach. Drew Barrymore It presents itself like this: true. At his side Orlando Bloom, a British knight look, as if to protect a fragile and bright star of Hollywood. Drew, he has not only a career but a family saga behind him: father, grandfather, great -grandparents, prozii … all actors.

« At 11 months I was in front of the camera for a spot, » he remembers the Courier. At five he is in « States of hallucination »seven Spielberg chooses it for « Et »: becomes Gertie, a sweet and mischievous face that moves the planet. Everything, however, comes too quickly: success, money, covers. But also the abyss. At nine, the first meeting with alcohol, then the drugs. At 13, after an attempted suicide, the mother hospitalizes her for a year and a half. Survives. Reborn. At 15 he lives alone.

In the nineties and two thousand it became sexy and pop icon. Today, at 50, he is an affectionate mother of olives and Frankie, a free woman, producer and conductor of the Drew Barrymore ShowTV lounge where he shows all his ability to reinvent himself. « It is the happiest moment of my life – he says-: I have no problem with aging. »

At the Superbowl, a maximum symbol of Americanity, he starred with the Englishman Orlando Bloom for a spot, right in a moment of tense relations between Europe and the USA. What does it mean?
«A wonderful message. It is a complex theme but we must remain positive on the future, otherwise we end up trapped in the neurosis of the present. Perhaps it is better to start with small things, especially when trying to fix everything seems too much ».

You are close. Still, you had never worked together.
«No, but we have known each other for over twenty years. In the first two thousand I organized parties from me: masked dances, end of year evenings. No smartphones, no social. They were very funny evenings ».

Do you ever think about how difficult it was to overcome everything he faced?
«Yes, I think about it often and I feel lucky. Sometimes I don’t understand how it is still possible to be here, after forty -nine years of career. Maybe because I really love what I do. Sometimes I work so much that I lose the voice, and in order not to give a flat rate I remain silent with a sign: « vocal rest ». Many laugh, but I need to recharge. And when you are authentic, who works with you – and the public – perceives it ».

He collected a symbolic legacy from Sophia Loren. What emotions did you feel?
“Being in his wake leaves me speechless. As a child I spent the summers at his house. It has always been kind. I played with Carlo and Edoardo Ponti. When MSC proposed me to happen to her as a godmother of a ship, I thought: being approached to Sophia is something incredible just to say. I admire his generosity. I esteemed her then and I continue to do it today. And I love Italy ».

What does our country love?
« All. I loved Eastern Sicily: Taormina and the Val di Noto. Now I want to visit the western part and Palermo. I love to travel ».

What do you love travel?
«It was my greatest master: he nourishes the soul, he leaves the most beautiful memories. It is the best way to learn, together with the books. Changes you. You really understand how the world works: people have rules, religions, different habits, but they can coexist. As happens on a cruise ».

Often speaks of sustainability. What fascinates it?
«I love nature. It inspires me. I think, for example, on the island of Ocean Cay, in the Bahamas: an abandoned industrial site that the Aponte family has transformed, recreating the coral reef. I feel like that island: even if you have had a difficult past, you can have a happy future. We have to do something for the environment. We owe it to our children ».

Speaking of children: His have seen et?
«Yes, but maybe they were a little too small, so I didn’t propose again. They will understand it on their own, at the right time. Thinking about it, it is a film that, still today, in certain passages can be a little frightening for children «