Drew Barrymore Covers InStyle October 2009

Drew Barrymore dons Valentino while gracing the October 2009 cover of InStyle, on stands TODAY. Here are some highlights from the 34-year-old Whip It director/star:

On not making enemies: “I don’t like alienating people. I’m like a big freaking welcome mat!”

On her selective memory: “I’m such a good secret keeper that I’ll deliberately forget things so I don’t have the urge to tell them.”

On her relationship with her parents: “I am OK with my dad, but my mom and I have yet to work it all out. I don’t talk about it because… how do you talk about something you’re confused about?”

On fame and how it’s affected her: I love my life, I really do. But there are moments I battle with it. Some days I want nothing more than a brilliant mask so I could look like someone else and go wander the streets and be free. I’m very peeved that Halloween only comes once a year.”

On why many of the films she has produced have themes of girl power and collaboration: “I like teams—I like buddies.” I don’t understand women who are competitive, apart from positive forums like athletics. One person is a powerful thing, but a tribe is unstoppable.”

On breaking barriers on the red carpet: “Do you know what I would love? To die on the red carpet. [Laughs] No—I love to succeed on it, but I don’t want to do it conventionally. What I don’t understand is, why is there a barrier between the runway and the red carpet? At fashion shows, the boundaries are gone. But on the red carpet, there’s this line. And I want to walk past that line.”

For more on Drew‘s cover shoot, visit InStyle.com! Bigger cover pics inside…