Aurora Starchild
Drew Barrymore may be known for being “a boho-free spirit mommy mother movie star” (thanks SNL), but the reality is, her past was quite naughty. She was in and out of rehab by age 12, dancing on tables at night clubs by age 13, legally emancipated by age 14, and yes, she was in Playboy — at age 19.
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“Drew Barrymore in the Flesh”: The Infamous Playboy Shoot
The January 1995 Playboy issue featured Barrymore on the cover and was titled “Drew Barrymore in the Flesh.” The pictorial featured her completely nude and quite carefree.
It starts with Drew wearing a see-through camisole and purple satin panties and then she starts losing her (very few) pieces of clothing. She’s seen taking her panties off while hopping into a white pickup truck, wearing black stilettos. Then she’s casually smoking a cigarette from said pickup truck. Next thing you know, she’s in a garage, completely naked (except for the stilettos) and leaning on a spare tire.
From that point on, Barrymore is naked sucking on lollipops, hanging out in a pool, and then surrounded by fluff on a very soft-looking bed. It’s hands-down one of the most seductive Playboy photo shoots that an A-list Hollywood actress has ever participated in.
The magazine quotes Barrymore as saying this was all part of her “sexy girl act” and then infers that it’s just who she is. Case in point: Poison Ivy and Doppelganger. Playboy also mentions that she’s barely old enough to vote and homages to her “womanhood”— there is a continuous stream of references to her youth. The article itself is titled “True Drew; The scion of Barrymores comes of age.”
Drew’s Godfather, Steven Spielberg, Reacts
Of course, Steven Spielberg is mentioned in the context of how Barrymore is known “as the little girl in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.” Spielberg just so happens to be her godfather. He also seemed a little uncomfortable that his goddaughter was in Playboy.
As a joke, Spielberg sent the starlet a quilt that said “Cover Up” along with a copy of the Playboy spread. He apparently had an artist help him cover Barrymore’s body with paper doll clothing cutouts in every picture.
“That’s what parents do,” Barrymore later said of his reaction.
Barrymore, in response, sent the director a series of photos of herself dressed as a nun. They were captioned “I’m sorry,” “I’ve seen the light,” and “I’m on my way.” Spielberg thought the nun apology photos were so funny that he kept them hanging in his house over the years.
From Playboy Model to… Nun?
Last February, Spielberg made a surprise appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show for her 46th birthday. They’d just shown an adorable clip of Barrymore as a child, talking about how she and Spielberg were best friends. She proceeds to break down in tears when he joins the talk show.
“Can I tell you something that you’ve taught me in life?” she asks. “You’ve taught me that a parent is supposed to make you feel bad when you’re not being good.” (Barrymore had an extremely tumultuous childhood, largely attributed to having a mother who treated her more like a peer and partied with her).
The Charlie’s Angels star and producer goes on to tell her godfather how important he is and always has been to her, especially his opinions of her behavior. “I live to make you proud,” she admits tearfully, adding that his presence gave her an acute awareness of when she wasn’t acting “good.”
The two reminisce about how they’ve known each other for 40 years (they met when she was 6). Barrymore actually auditioned for Poltergeist, but Spielberg decided to cast her in E.T. instead. That was probably for the best and we’re going to keep it at that.
When the Playboy shoot is brought up, they talk about the joke gift exchanges and then Spielberg actually holds up the nun photos, which are neatly framed.
From Playboy model to pretend nun, that is Drew Barrymore for you. We have Steven Spielberg to thank for all the laughs, too. You can watch the reunion clip below.
