Drew Barrymore Reflects On Raising Her Daughters Without A “Traditional Family Dynamic”

March 23, 2025: Actress Drew Barrymore has shared heartfelt insights about her experience of becoming a parent without a clear roadmap in her new book, offering readers a glimpse into her journey of raising her two daughters, Olive (12) and Frankie (10), with ex-husband Will Kopelman.

In a recent episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, the actress opened up about the challenges she faced in her own childhood, which shaped her approach to parenting. “Everything to me was very devastating and took me a long time to recover from if it wasn’t in the traditional family dynamic that I swore I would do for my family because I did not grow up that way,” she revealed.

Reflecting on her own upbringing, Barrymore shared how she struggled with the instability in her family life, recalling moments of jealousy when seeing other children whose parents were more involved. “It’s weird stuff like that. It’s soup when you’re sick. I remember all the kids at school would go into the office to call their parents when they were sick, and I could never get a hold of anybody,” she recalled. “And I was so jealous of those kids who would call and be like, ‘Mom, Dad, come pick me up.’ I just would sit there and be like, ‘What’s that like.'”

In January, Barrymore also discussed her journey as a mother on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, describing her daughters as her “North Star” and emphasizing how motherhood shifted her priorities. “Every day is different. Every hour is different. They’re my North Star, my compass,” she said. “I love that in the life that I got to live before I knew them, my priorities were different. And ever since I came into the world, I understand what the purpose of my life is.”

Barrymore shared that when she found out she was having daughters, she felt a deep sense of purpose. “I found out I was having a daughter with Olive, and I thought, ‘Oh right, ok karmically that makes sense.’ There’s a lot of, ‘Ok, I’m having a girl,'” she said. “When I found out I was having Frankie, my second daughter, it humbled me in a way that I’ve never known and I’ll never forget the moment because I realized I was put on this planet to raise girls.”

She also opened up about the fear of not following a “perfect” family blueprint. “If you don’t grow up in a perfect way with a perfect family, you fear the blueprint and you go, I want to do things differently,” Barrymore explained. “I felt unconfident like this was the stakes of my life, and it took a few years, honestly, to have that confidence.”

Barrymore’s new book is a reflection of her journey as a mother, with the actress striving to give her daughters a childhood different from her own. Through candid storytelling and personal revelations, she hopes to inspire others who may feel uncertain about their own paths to parenthood.