As a member of America's most illustrious family of actors, one might think that a successful future for actress Drew Barrymore (the daughter of John Drew Barrymore, Jr.) would be a given. But though she is still a young woman, Ms. Barrymore has already had more than her share of personal and professional ups and downs, and any success she has found is due to her own hard work and developing talent. Perhaps part of the problems she has endured have come from spending her entire life in the industry; she made a television commercial at nine months, debuted in a television movie, Suddenly Love at age two, and made her feature film debut in Ken Russell's Altered States (1980) at age four. She became a star at age seven for her precocious performance in the enormous 1982 hit E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. She appeared in three more big budget films by 1985 before she dropped out of films for four years. Her sudden rise into stardom took a toll on her, for, like many child actors, she found herself thrust into a world where she was supposed to be a child on screen and a professional young adult at other times. By the time Barrymore was nine she had begun drinking; she continued abusing alcohol and drugs through her early teens, and was also heavily involved in the nightclub scene. It all culminated with a suicide attempt and she ended up spending several years in rehabilitation (her troubled life and tendency towards chemical excess seem to be a Barrymore family legacy). In 1989, she chronicled her youthful struggles in her autobiography Little Girl Lost. As a young adult actress, Barrymore has begun to cultivate the image of the contemporary siren, seductive, independent, and tough as nails. In 1995, she won critical acclaim for her portrayal of a manic-depressive teen in Mad Love. As the '90s progress, Barrymore continues to develop into a fine and versatile performer in works ranging from Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You (1996; she is the only one who doesn't use her own singing voice) to Wes Craven's scary Scream to The Wedding Singer (1998), in which she plays a romantic role.