The Personal Detail Drew Barrymore Just Revealed About Her Late Dad

Drew Barrymore got personal on the September 16 episode of her show when she discussed one of her favorite California spots she visited with her father.

"I truly love Joshua Tree," she told her audience. "It's a short drive from Palm Springs. It just means so much to me personally. I've gone to Joshua Tree my whole life and I actually spread my father's ashes there, because it was his favorite place." Barrymore continued, "And the two of us would tool around there together and there's really no place quite like it. It's one of the wonders that we have and I can't recommend it more. It's deeply spiritual and I would get yourself there as quickly as possible."

Fans agreed, as one wrote, "I lived in 29 Palms, near Joshua Tree, it really is a beautiful place." Another added, "Oh my God Drew that's my hometown." One fan was touched by Barrymore's memory as they wrote, "Drew this is beautiful your father is watching over you." Barrymore doesn't speak about her father often, but when she does, she makes it count. Keep reading for more details.

Drew Barrymore's father died in 2004, but he left a lasting impact on her. Barrymore reflected on her "wild card" dad in a June 2020 Father's Day post on Instagram. "He was a mad poet hedonist man child! But I understood that as a kid. Somehow I have zero baggage or dad issues. I think I would have liked to have a dad who didn't look so out there," she wrote.

She continued, "Or who stayed. Or was capable of anything really. But his wildness runs through me. His gifts are here. His demons to overcome are mine to break! I love him not for who I wanted him to be, but for who he was." She noted that he gave her the "gift of life," along with "a wicked sense of humor." Although Barrymore and her father had a strained relationship, she did reconcile with him in 2001, as she said in a November 2015 episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" (via Us Weekly). "He got cancer," she said. "And I had a very rare turn of events where I got to take care of him for three years in a hospice."