At 5, she appeared in Altered States, and made herself into a household name with the blockbuster E.T. She was described by good friend and director Steven Spielberg as a teenager who was "13 going on 29."

She was born into a family famous for its love of being in the spotlight. Her kin include the legendary Lionel, John and Ethel Barrymore. Troubled times came for Barrymore, when she tried alcohol for the first time at age 9, and marijuana at age 10. Soon after, she turned to cocaine, and stirred controversy with her near nude appearances in Far From Home, and was forced into ASAP Family Treatment Center, a drug rehab clinic.

She stole her mother's credit card, escaped the clinic, and made a break for the Westcoast. She was unsuccessful, however, and was returned to rehab by authorities. She made a special appearance in a television movie warning teens about the dangers of drug abuse, only to fall back into her addiction.

July 1989 was her all-time low; she unsuccessfully attempted suicide, and was sent back to rehab. She was finally able to overcome her addictions, and decided she no longer needed any parental aid. She divorced her mother at the age of 15, and posed nude for a magazine cover not much later than that. More...