Drew Barrymore was sent to a psychiatric hospital aged 13 for a year and a half by her mother

Drew Barrymore was sent to a psychiatric hospital at the age of 13 by her mother after she went ‘out of control’.

The actress made her big screen debut aged just five before becoming a global child star aged seven in the classic ET.

However, her sudden fame led to an extremely troubled childhood plagued by drug and alcohol abuse, with Drew attending Studio 54 with her mother Jaid Barrymore before ending up in rehab at age 12.

Speaking on The Howard Stern Show on Monday, Drew, now 46, explained that she was just 13 when she spent 18 months in a psychiatric facility.

The Charlie’s Angels star said: ‘I was going to clubs and not going to school and stealing my mom’s car and, you know, I was out of control.

‘So, you know, sometimes it was as humorous as that and sometimes I was just so angry that I would go off and then I’d get thrown in “the thing”.’

She explained: ‘My mom put me in a place that was like a full psychiatric ward. I used to laugh at those Malibu 30 day places, they talk about things that p*** me off. A little spa vacation for 30 days in Malibu is sort of the opposite of the experience I had.

‘I was in a place for a year and a half called Van Nuys Psychiatric and you couldn’t mess around in there. If you did, you’d get thrown either in the padded room or get put in stretcher restraints and tied up.’

A fan of The Go-Gos and Blondie at the time, Drew said that she would ‘channel my inner riot grrrl’ to rile up the other young patients at the facility.

She said: ‘It was like half a kids’ facility and half an old persons’ place, so as I was riling up these young girls, the woman in the walker would go by. It was hilarious.’

Despite her experience, Drew has forgiven Jaid for sending her to the institution.

She said: ‘I think she created a monster and she didn’t know what to do with the monster. This was her last gasp, and I really was out of control, and I forgive her for making this choice. 

‘She probably felt like she had nowhere to turn and I’m sure she lived with a lot of guilt for years.’

After another stint in rehab following an attempt on her life aged 14, Drew became legally emancipated from her parents Jaid and John, and moved into her own apartment aged 15.

She became estranged from her mother, saying that cutting Jaid out of her life was the ‘worst pain I’ve ever known’.

However, the mother and daughter have since reconciled, with Drew saying: ‘I just thought, I have to let this go. What is this doing for either of us? I think she’s old enough now to be in a different place in her life. I know the changes that I’ve made and how long they took, I know that’s possible for people, so why not her too?’

Drew endured her troubled childhood and stayed in Hollywood, going on to be nominated for three Golden Globes (winning one for Grey Gardens) and having box office success with films like Scream, The Wedding Singer, Charlie’s Angels, Never Been Kissed and 50 First Dates.

She now hosts her own talk show, The Drew Barrymore Show, and is mum to daughters Olive, eight, and Frankie, six, with ex-husband Will Kopelman.

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