Drew Barrymore is honoring her late father, John Barrymore, in a Father's Day tribute.
The 45-year-old actress took to Instagram on Sunday, June 21, to reflect on her complicated relationship with the actor, who passed away in 2004.
"My mom chose a wild card for my dad. He was a mad poet hedonist man child! But I understood that as a kid. Somehow I have zero baggage or dad issues," the "Santa Clarita Diet" star wrote alongside a black-and-white photo of her dad and mom, Ildiko Jaid Mako, in 1973. "I think I would have liked to have a dad who didn't look so out there. 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 continued on, thinking about seeing all the photos on social media of people with their dads today.
"As I look at all the photos of dads today, doing their dad job, sure, there is my tiny self that wished for him to fit in. But he never did. And I'm not sure I did either. And I'm not sure what anything is supposed to look like, or what it really is beyond the images?! But I do know this… both my parents have played a major role in who i am as a parent," the mother of two explained. "And none of it looks perfect. But it functions with so much love. And togetherness. And availability. I don't have a picture of a dad today to show how great everything was. I have a picture to show what it was. And that is my story. And that is perfect in itself. My dad gave me the gift of life! A wicked sense of humor! And that wildness that I truly do cherish."
Barrymore, who became legally emancipated from her parents as a teenager, was estranged from both her parents for many years. But when her father was diagnosed with cancer in 2001, she reconciled with him, taking care of him for three years in hospice.