Drew Grit

One of Hollywood’s original girl bosses, Drew Barrymore started her first company at 19. Two decades, two daughters and the launch of a beauty brand later, she talks to Sarah Grant about building an empire and keeping it real.

MARIE CLAIRE: You’ve always been refreshingly down to earth. How do you keep the bullshit level in check in an increasingly vacuous world?

DREW BARRYMORE: I started in this business when I was 11 months old, 43 years ago, so my bullshit tolerance is pretty high. But I think there are some new challenges, mostly social media, that are a real tool to spread negativity. I also feel like I’ve lived my life pretty openly – I have never tried to portray this perfect existence. I don’t think a perfect life is really relatable to many people. Life is incredible, don’t get me wrong, and I have two amazing daughters who mean everything in the world to me, but life has really had its hard moments. I always say that I march in the army of optimism – you have to ... I also don’t ever want my kids to see me being affected by mean people. I want them to see me rise above it and face things with grace and class. Putting positivity out in the world is extremely important to me.

MC: How does that part of your personality extend to the way you want female beauty to be perceived?

DB: A smile is the best make-up, I always say. We started this “Warrior” line at Flower Beauty, because I got excited about make-up being this layer of armour that can help you fight the day. It’s a confidence booster and everyone deserves to feel good about how they look every day, but there’s still nothing better than the look of happiness on someone’s face.