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Drew Barrymore’s Best Movies and TV Shows, Ranked

From her childhood role in E.T. to romantic comedies, Grey Gardens, directing, and daytime hosting, these titles show the range of Drew Barrymore’s screen career.
Opened Runtime4 min Written byDocumentaryTube Team
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Drew Barrymore’s most representative screen work stretches from her childhood role in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial to romantic comedies, genre films, a celebrated television performance, directing, and daytime hosting. This is an editorial ranking, weighing the distinctiveness of her performance, the work’s staying power, her range, and her creative role in it.

A fully verified list of 17 titles is not possible from the available career records, so this ranking includes 16 titles with documented Barrymore credits rather than padding the list with unverified entries. It is not a claim of critical consensus or a complete filmography.

The ranking

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

    Barrymore’s performance as Gertie makes this the essential starting point: a vivid childhood role in a landmark film, and the first entry in a screen career that would take her far beyond child acting.

  2. Grey Gardens (2009)

    As Little Edie in HBO’s television film, Barrymore takes on a demanding real-life figure and delivers one of the defining dramatic performances of her career. Paramount’s biography records a 2009 Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award for the role; the award organizations’ own records should be consulted for exact category wording.

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  3. Never Been Kissed (1999)

    This romantic comedy is a central Barrymore vehicle and an important Flower Films landmark: the production company she co-founded with Nancy Juvonen was behind the film. Its mix of awkwardness and warmth suits her screen persona while showing her move into a more active creative role.

  4. The Wedding Singer (1998)

    Barrymore’s romantic-comedy strengths are on clear display here. The film is one of the career highlights singled out in a secondary biographical overview, and it remains a useful counterpoint to her more dramatic and genre-focused work.

  5. Charlie’s Angels (2000)

    Barrymore helped bring the action-comedy ensemble to the screen as both star and producer through Flower Films. It is a key example of her influence extending beyond her performance, and a distinctly different register from her romantic comedies.

  6. Whip It (2009)

    Barrymore directed and acted in this film, making it the clearest choice for readers interested in her work behind the camera. It broadens a ranking otherwise weighted toward her acting roles and demonstrates her participation as a filmmaker.

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  7. Donnie Darko (2001)

    This genre drama sits apart from Barrymore’s best-known comedy work and helps show the range of projects she has taken on. Its inclusion is supported by Paramount’s career biography, though the available records do not establish a comparative critical ranking.

  8. Music and Lyrics (2007)

    A later romantic comedy that highlights Barrymore’s easygoing chemistry and musical-comedy side. It appears among the titles emphasized by both official and secondary career biographies.

  9. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)

    This film adds a less conventional dramatic-comedy turn to the list. It is one of the notable projects highlighted in Biography.com’s career overview, complementing the broader studio comedies associated with Barrymore.

  10. Firestarter (1984)

    Among Barrymore’s early screen work, this film marks her presence in genre storytelling after E.T. It is a useful reminder that her childhood roles were not confined to one kind of project.

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  11. 50 First Dates (2004)

    This romantic comedy is among the Flower Films productions named in Paramount’s biography. It belongs on a career-spanning list for its place in Barrymore’s sustained run of mainstream comedy roles.

  12. Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003)

    The sequel extends Barrymore’s action-comedy and producing work with the franchise. It is less useful as a standalone showcase than the first film, but it represents a significant continuation of her role in the series.

  13. Fever Pitch (2005)

    Another romantic comedy in a prolific stretch of Barrymore’s career, this film shows how central the genre became to her screen identity. Paramount’s biography lists it among her notable credits.

  14. Duplex (2003)

    This darker comedy offers a tonal change from the warmer romantic roles that define much of her popular work. Its place here rests on its value as part of the broader range of Barrymore’s film credits.

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  15. He’s Just Not That Into You (2009)

    Barrymore appears in this ensemble romantic comedy, another title identified in Paramount’s career biography. It rounds out the picture of her continued work in relationship-centered comedy during the 2000s.

  16. The Drew Barrymore Show (2020– )

    Barrymore’s daytime series represents a different kind of screen presence: she is host and executive producer, rather than a film performer. Paramount’s biography identifies those roles; this ranking does not assess the show’s current season status.

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How to read the ranking

The order is a judgment about a representative career, not a measurement of box office, viewership, or critical acclaim. The official biographies establish selected credits and creative roles, but they do not supply a universal ranking or a complete filmography. For that reason, the list favors well-documented milestones across Barrymore’s acting, producing, directing, and hosting work.

Why Flower Films matters

Barrymore’s career is not only a sequence of performances. Paramount’s biography describes Flower Films as co-founded by Barrymore and Nancy Juvonen, and names Never Been Kissed, Charlie’s Angels, 50 First Dates, Donnie Darko, Duplex, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Music and Lyrics, Fever Pitch, He’s Just Not That Into You, and Whip It among the company’s projects. Whip It is especially notable because Barrymore also directed it.

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Barrymore beyond film

Grey Gardens shows the dramatic side of her television work, while The Drew Barrymore Show places her in the role of host and executive producer. Together with her directing credit on Whip It, those projects make a film-only view of her career incomplete.

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