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Its always hard growing up in front of the camera, but with a godfather like Steven Spielberg, life gets a little easier. Drew Barrymore, who got her start acting at 11 months old in a TV commercial, is now an acclaimed actress, producer and, with today’s release of “Whip It!,” a director as well.

Click on the photo below to see how Drew has transformed from a “Little Girl Lost” to a kick-butt filmmaker. Then, keep reading for more on her rise to fame after the jump.

She’s the granddaughter of cinema great John Barrymore and has actors strewn on both sides of her family tree, so it’s no surprise Drew had her first big hit at age seven cast as little sister Gertie in Spielbergs sci-fi masterpiece, “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.” Two years later, she transitioned from adorable to deadly in the adaptation of Stephen King’s “Firestarter.”It was about this time, at age 9, that Drew entered into her well-documented rebellious era. Having already received a Golden Globe nomination for her role in “Irreconcilable Differences” and been touted as a great actress by Roger Ebert, she had received success many adult actors dream of, and tried to act the part. In interview with Hello Magazine and “Inside The Actors Studio,” Drew revealed she was smoking cigarettes at age 9, drinking alcohol by age 11, smoking marijuana at age 12 and snorting cocaine by age 13. After two stints in rehab and a suicide attempt, Drew published her memoir “Little Girl Lost” at age 15, and according to People’s Drew Barrymore biography, has never relapsed since.

Drew had several starring roles in cult hits like “Poison Ivy” in 1992 and achieved a second Golden Globe nomination for “Guncrazy” the same year, but it was her minor roles in films like “Wayne’s World 2″ and “Batman Forever” which helped to bolster her image. In 1996, she was killed off in the opening minutes of horror satire, “Scream,” in what turned out to be an intensely popular franchise. Unfortunately, due to the gruesome death of her character, she was unable to appear in its later sequels.

At age 23, Drew started her career’s turn toward romantic comedies in “The Wedding Singer,” Ever After and “Home Fries,” which were all released in 1998. Three years prior, she had created the film production company Flower Films alongside business partner Nancy Juvonen, and in 1999 they produced their first film, the Drew Barrymore and Michael Vartan-starring “Never Been Kissed.”

The next film Flower watered was “Charlies Angels,” a remake starring Drew, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu. The chick flick action comedy made over $125 million in box offices, and cemented Flower Films as a powerhouse company. The company also produced the “Abgels” sequel, 2003’s “Full Throttle”, and it supported the cult classic “Donnie Darko” when its budget was pulled. Drew even took the minor role of Donnie’s English teacher.

In July of 2001, Drew married comedian Tom Green. She had previously been married to a Welsh bar owner for a month in 1994. Though their marriage did not last much longer (he filed for divorce in December, it became official in October of 2002), she did get a cameo appearance in his 2001 film “Freddy Got Fingered.”

Drew has continued to make her mark in romantic comedies throughout the new millennium as both an actress and a producer. She starred in “Duplex” in 2003 with Ben Stiller, “50 First Dates” in 2004 with Adam Sandler, Fever Pitch in 2005 with Jimmy Fallon and “Music and Lyrics” in 2007 opposite Hugh Grant.

In 2007, she hosted “Saturday Night Live” for the fifth time, making her the second woman in history to do so (the first being Candice Bergan). People named her number one in their list of the 100 Most Beautiful People. She has also appeared on seven episodes of “Family Guy” between 2006 and 2009 as Griffin family dog Brian’s girlfriend, Jillian.

In 2007, Drew also first became romantically attached to comedian Justin Long. Though the two confirmed their breakup in July of 2008, they have since costarred in the 2009 Flower Films produced dramedy, “Hes Just Not That Into You,” and are set to headline “Going The Distance” in 2010. They have often been seen together in public recently, though a renewed relationship is still unconfirmed.

Drew most recently starred opposite Jessica Lange in the HBO film, “Grey Gardens,” for which she earned an Emmy nomination for outstanding lead actress. Her first film as a director, Whip It!, hit theaters today with a 79 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes . With her troubled years behind her, Drew is set to become a cinema great just like her grandfather and godfather potentially, E! Online portends, even the next Steven Spielberg.

Source: Hollywood Crush