“I Don’t Know Who I’d Be Without It,” Drew Barrymore Reveals the Role That Forever Changed Her Life

Drew Barrymore became famous at the tender age of 7 years old after starring in the 1982 classic, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Since then, she’s been featured in over 40 other films, which include numerous fan favorites. However, one, in particular, seems to have had a lasting effect on her, with the actress claiming that it changed her career.

The film is a retelling of the Cinderella story.

While reflecting on her career in an interview, Barrymore named Ever After (1998) as an example of how art can be life-changing. “I know creative things have done that for me in my life, not only when I was a kid, but when I was in my early twenties. I did Ever After. I was like, ’I don’t think I would be the same person without giving a spin on what we think a princess is supposed to be,’” she stated about the film, which is a modern and feminist spin on the Cinderella tale.

“Then I was trying to start a company and wanted to tell stories and make films and that particular messaging that you can rescue yourself, and you don’t have to wait to be rescued is definitely the thing that set me up best in my life,” she explained. “I don’t know who I would be, honestly, without it. It changed the way I saw the world.”

In the movie, the then 23-year-old actress played the part of Danielle de Barbarac, or “Cinderella.” The part of her love interest in the film was given to Dougray Scott, who took on Prince Henry, and the wicked stepmother role was played by Anjelica Huston. The ’90s flick was a critically acclaimed box-office success.

The actress helped to create an animated series that hopes to empower boys and girls.

Much influenced by the impact that Ever After had on her, Barrymore decided to executive produce the children’s animated series, Princess Power, about princesses from different kingdoms who embrace their differences to make the world a better place. “We just need to be told a change of narrative,” she said. “That can change our lives. It happened to me, and if any little girls or little boys are watching [Princess Power] and feel like they can, how amazing is that?”