Drew Barrymore isn't just a talk show host who loves to get down on the floor with her guests. She’s a survivor. Honestly, if you grew up watching her, you know the narrative has always been a bit chaotic. From the E.T. child star era to the "wild child" 90s, her name has been synonymous with Hollywood's extremes. But lately, the question everyone is asking is pretty straightforward: Is Drew Barrymore sober?
The short answer is yes. But the long answer is way more interesting and, frankly, a lot more human than the headlines suggest.
She didn't just wake up one day and decide to put down the glass. It was a slow, sometimes painful realization that the "awful cycle" she was in simply wasn't working anymore. As of early 2026, Drew has been living an alcohol-free life for over six years. She officially made the jump in 2019, right around the time she was filming the pilot for The Drew Barrymore Show.
The Turning Point Nobody Saw Coming
We often think celebrities go to fancy rehabs the second things get messy. For Drew, it was different this time. She had already done the "institutionalized at 13" thing—spending 18 months in a locked psychiatric ward called Van Nuys Behavioral Health. She’d already been the poster child for childhood addiction.
But her adult struggle with alcohol was quieter. It flared up after her 2016 divorce from Will Kopelman. Divorce is heavy. For Drew, it felt like the "death of a dream." She started drinking to numb that specific, hollow kind of pain.
It got to a point where her longtime therapist, Barry Michels, actually stopped working with her. He told her he couldn't do it anymore because she wasn't getting better. That’s a massive wake-up call. Most people would be offended. Drew? She said she’d never respected him more. She knew he was right.
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Why She Quit
She has been very vocal about the fact that alcohol "did not serve" her. It’s a phrase she uses a lot. It wasn't necessarily about a dramatic "rock bottom" in the way the tabloids want it to be. Instead, it was about mental peace.
- Motherhood: She wanted to be fully present for her daughters, Olive and Frankie.
- Clarity: The "torture of guilt and dysfunction" was becoming too much to carry.
- The Show: She needed to be "on" and grounded to lead her daytime empire.
Is She "Sober-Sober" or Just Not Drinking?
This is where the nuance comes in. Drew has mentioned she doesn't always love the word "sober" because of the heavy baggage and labels that come with it. She prefers to describe it as being "alcohol-free."
It’s a distinction a lot of people in the "sober curious" movement make. It’s less about a rigid, scary identity and more about a lifestyle choice that facilitates better mental health. She’s looking for the "high road" of her journey.
"One of the bravest things you can do is slay those dragons and finally change an awful cycle in which you've found yourself stuck." — Drew Barrymore, 2022
The "Quiet Journey"
For the first few years, she didn't tell anyone. She wanted to figure it out privately. No big announcements. No "I'm clean" magazine covers. Just her, doing the work in the background. She finally opened up about it in 2021 during an interview with Gayle King on CBS Mornings. By then, she had already been dry for two and a half years.
The Barrymore Legacy
Sobriety for Drew is also a way of honoring her family's complicated history. The Barrymores are acting royalty, but they were also "hedonists," as she puts it. Her father, John Drew Barrymore, struggled with violent alcoholism. Her grandfather, the legendary John Barrymore, died from the effects of it.
By staying sober, she’s essentially rewriting the DNA of her family’s future. It’s a legacy of breaking chains.
Actionable Insights: What We Can Learn from Drew
If you’re looking at your own relationship with alcohol or just want to support someone who is, Drew's path offers some pretty solid takeaways.
- Focus on "Service": Ask yourself, "Does this serve me?" If a habit makes you feel guilty, sluggish, or less than your best self, it might be time to re-evaluate.
- Privacy is Okay: You don't have to announce your lifestyle changes to the world immediately. It’s okay to have a "quiet, confident journey" until you feel stable.
- Expect the Rollercoaster: Drew often says we don't just "fix it" and move on. Life keeps throwing things at you. The goal isn't perfection; it's staying on the track you built.
- Seek Professional Boundaries: Sometimes, the people we pay to help us (like therapists) need to set hard boundaries to get us to listen. Listen to those boundaries.
Drew Barrymore’s sobriety isn't a finished story. It's a daily practice. She seems to have finally found that "mental peace" she was chasing for decades. And honestly? Seeing her thrive without the "demons" is probably the best sequel Hollywood could have written for her.
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If you're questioning your own habits, start by tracking how you feel the morning after. Small observations often lead to the biggest changes. Keep it simple. Take a breath. Give yourself a squeeze. You’re doing your best.