Drew Barrymore's best movies and TV shows highlight a career that has lasted decades and seen a lot of iconic projects. Barrymore is part of a family of actors, with the Barrymore family including John Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore. However, Drew's career started early with her grabbing a lot of people's attention with her early scene-stealing role in Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial when she was only 6 years old. This helped to launch her successful career as a child actor.

Barrymore herself its to falling into the destructive path that plagues many child actors, but by the 1990s, her career was resurging with her transition into adult roles which saw her showing off her comedic skills in a number of projects while also becoming a successful producer. These days, Barrymore is mostly known for her charming talk show, but she has left behind an iconic acting career that is filled with projects fans still revisit today.

10 Santa Clarita Diet (2017-2019)

As Sheila Hammond

In her first and only major scripted television role, Drew Barrymore starred in this hilarious, underrated comedy that is one of many Netflix shows canceled too soon. Santa Clarita Diet stars Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant as a husband-and-wife realtor team whose calm life is turned upside down when Sheila (Barrymore) dies from a mysterious illness and comes back to life. Not only that, but she now has a taste for human meat.

The show is surprisingly gory but never forgets to embrace its silly sense of humor. Barrymore and Olyphant have wonderful chemistry as this suburban couple trying to deal with the mayhem of their new lives. Barrymore holds onto her free-spirit persona while also playing this over-the-top killer. Santa Clarita Diet sadly ended on a big cliffhanger, but it remains a hilarious series to rewatch.

9 Never Been Kissed (1999)

As Josie Geller

As Drew Barrymore’s “bad girl” persona in the media began to fade away, she was able to show people how funny she was in some very memorable comedies. One of the best is Never Been Kissed, in which Barrymore stars as Josie Geller, a reporter who is given the assignment of going undercover in a high school as a student. However, this proves to be a nightmare for Josie as she was a picked-on outcast back in her own high school days.

Never Been Kissed has some problematic and questionable storylines that don’t work as well in retrospect. However, as a showcase for Barrymore as a comedic actor, it is a winning movie. She gives a tour-de-force performance that is hilarious and endearing while also being willing to make herself look ridiculous. Josie is not the typical rom-com lead, but Barrymore makes it work so well.

8 Whip It! (2009)

As Smashley Simpson

After producing a number of her own projects over the years, Drew Barrymore's work behind the camera extended to directing in the comedy Whip It! The wild movie takes audiences into the world of roller derby leagues as the story follows young Bliss (Elliot Page), a Texan teen who feels like an outcast with her obscure outlook on the world. However, Bliss finds an outlet to her small-town boredom by ing a team of women in the wild and violent roller derby.

Along with making a confident and lively directorial debut, Barrymore has a fun ing role in the movie as Smashley Simpson, one of the hard-hitting women on Bliss' team. The movie also includes Zoë Bell, Eve, and Kristen Wiig as of the eccentric team who form a pseudo-family of and understanding. It makes for a touching and hilarious underdog sports movie set in a unique world.

7 Donnie Darko (2001)

As Karen Pomeroy

Drew Barrymore has been a star for decades and it was not often she would appear in ing roles. However, while serving as producer of Donnie Darko, Barrymore took a smaller yet important role. Jake Gyllenhaal stars in the movie as the titular character, a high school student who begins communicating with a giant rabbit during his sleepwalking sessions and learns about the impending end of the world.

Barrymore plays Donnie’s unconventional yet caring teacher, Karen Pomeroy. Donnie Darko is a mind-bending movie that is not easy to figure out, especially on a first viewing. However, there is no denying that it is an engrossing journey with some truly impactful moments that will stay with the audience long after it is over. Gyllenhaal proved himself a worthy leading man with this complex and haunted protagonist role.

6 50 First Dates (2004)

As Lucy Whitmore

Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler proved themselves to be a dynamic pair in The Wedding Singer, so it is not surprising that their chemistry was sought out again for 50 First Dates. The romantic comedy stars Sandler as a womanizer living a carefree life in Hawaii when he finds himself unexpectedly falling for a girl named Lucy (Barrymore). However, despite the immediate connection, he learns that she has memory loss, beginning every day not ing the one before, which means he has to make her interested in him day after day.

50 First Dates is surprisingly loosely based on a true story and it provides a wonderful premise for these two stars to play off each other. Barrymore is once again a charming romantic lead, but she also has fun with the complicated side of Lucy. She and Sandler get big laughs together with the audience also wanting to see their romance work out.

5 Charlie’s Angels (2000)

As Dylan Sanders

Though mostly known for her comedic roles, Drew Barrymore proved that she also had the chops as an action hero in Charlie’s Angels. A remake of the classic television series, Charlie’s Angels follows a trio of highly skilled and capable women who work at a detective agency for their mysterious and unseen boss, Charlie. The Angels’ latest case has them attempting to find a kidnapped tech mogul (Sam Rockwell).

Alongside Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu, Barrymore plays Dylan, the wildest member of the trio. Barrymore fits into the role with some impressive action moves while still hanging onto her comedic skills. The movie is a silly ride that doesn’t take itself too seriously but delivers some truly entertaining action sequences. The three stars also share wonderful chemistry, fighting alongside each other as partners and friends.

4 The Wedding Singer (1998)

As Julia Sullivan

The first collaboration between Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler remains the best. The Wedding Singer is an '80s-set comedy that stars Sandler as Robbie, a talented wedding singer who is left at the altar on his big day, struggling with his outlook on love. However, he is saved from his funk by sweet waitress Julie (Barrymore) and begins to fall for her even as she prepares to get married to her self-centered fiancé.

The Wedding Singer is a hilarious comedy, having a lot of fun with its 80s setting and also including some terrific cameos from the likes of Jon Lovitz and Steve Buscemi. However, it also works very well as a love story with Sandler and Barrymore sharing an undeniable sweetness together. Even after all of these years, the movie remains the best rom-com from each of the A-list stars.

3 Grey Gardens (2009)

As Edith Bouvier Beale

Drew Barrymore earned some of the best reviews of her career for the TV movie Grey Gardens. Based on a true story, Grey Gardens examines the life of Edith Bouvier Beale (Jessica Lange) and her daughter Edith (Barrymore), the aunt and cousin of Jackie Onassis, the former First Lady of the United States of America. The movie takes a look at the duos' promising life in the 1930s socialite culture while following them into the 1970s when a documentary crew exposed their life in squalor in their deteriorating estate.

Barrymore's performance is extraordinary as she is able to take the audience on an incredible journey with this complex character, from a woman filled with potential to an older woman filled with regret and anger. Seeing Barrymore play the same character in two very different stages of her life is a testament to her skills as an actor. Barrymore won the SAG Award for her powerful performance.

2 Scream (1996)

As Casey Becker

Though her runtime is brief, Drew Barrymore’s role in Scream is an iconic horror movie moment. Scream is Wes Craven’s clever slasher movie that follows a group of high school students who find themselves being stalked by a masked killer. Barrymore plays Casey Beckett, a high schooler who is the first character to get that iconic phone call from Ghostface to kick off the Scream franchise.

Barrymore’s opening scene is one of the best horror movie openings of all time and remains the best sequence in this franchise. Her performance is a big part of how effective it is as she truly sells the terror of the situation. Scream is also one of the most influential horror movies of all time with its brilliant meta-commentary on the slasher genre that changed how these movies are made.

1 E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

As Gertie Taylor

With one of her very first roles, Drew Barrymore worked with one of Hollywood's greatest directors in one of his most popular movies. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is Steven Spielberg’s wonderful sci-fi story about a young boy named Elliott who discovers a lost alien in his backyard and takes him in. As he and his siblings attempt to help the stranded alien return to his home, the government seeks out the visitor.

Barrymore earned a BAFTA nomination for her performance in the movie as Gertie Taylor, Elliott’s adorable little sister. It is a scene-stealing performance in this magic adventure that remains a classic piece of cinema. Spielberg infuses the simple story with his specific brand of movie magic, creating some of the most unforgettable movie moments in of all time.