Survivors: Stars who overcame sexual abuse

Gabrielle Union - When she was working at a Payless ShoeSource at the age of 19, Union was raped at gunpoint. The actress told her story of redemption on 'The View' in 2014, admitting that she "hated feeling like a victim." Noting the politics of the situation, she also made it clear that she was "lucky" to have had the incident happen in an affluent neighborhood, where the police and crisis center were quick and able to respond.

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Gabrielle Union - During a 2014 interview on 'The View,' the actress shared that she hated "hated feeling like a victim." Union decided to sue the franchise in an effort to take her "power back."

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Lady Gaga - On The Howard Stern Show, Gaga opened up about how she was raped by a record producer at the age of 19. She also opened up about the real story behind her song 'Swine.'

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Lady Gaga - Gaga said, “The song is about rape." She continued, "The song is about demoralization. The song is about rage and fury and passion, and I had a lot of pain that I wanted to release."

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Fiona Apple - Back in 1989, Fiona Apple was sexually assaulted outside of her family's apartment when she was just 12 years old.

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Fiona Apple - The singer and musician has been candid in interviews about how the incident has impacted her life in hopes to help others.

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Marilyn Monroe - Monroe had a tough break early on in life when her mother was sent to a mental institution and she became an orphan. Between the ages of six and nine, the actress was raped in her foster home.

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Marilyn Monroe - Long before the #MeToo movement, this iconic beauty queen was one of the first stars to openly discuss the issue of sexual harassment and assault in Hollywood.

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Missy Elliot - The rapper/dancer was sexually abused at only 8 years old by her 16-year-old cousin.
She revealed the details of the traumatic event during an interview on VH1's show 'Behind the Music.'

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Missy Elliot - While she has gone on to achieve great success in the music industry, the experience still haunts her. Elliot stated, “Being molested… it don’t disappear. You remember it as if it was yesterday.”

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Marilyn Manson - Marilyn Manson also suffered from sexual abuse during childhood. The singer was raped by an older man in his neighborhood growing up.

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Marilyn Manson - Manson has been outspoken on the issue of sexual assault, and he included the theme of abuse in his album 'Smells Like Children.'

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Carlos Santana - The Grammy Award-winning guitarist revealed that between the ages of 12 and 14 he was molested "almost every other day" by an American man who helped him cross the border from Tijuana, Mexico.
Carlos Santana was a victim of childhood sexual abuse. Santana went public with his experience to help other victims.

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Carlos Santana - Santana has openly spoken against victim-blaming. He told the Rolling Stone, "The mind has a very insidious way of making you feel guilty: You're the guilty party, shame on you, you're the one who brought this on yourself."

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Maya Angelou - In 1936, the esteemed poet Maya Angelou was sexually assaulted by her mother's boyfriend when she was just eight years.

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Maya Angelou - The experience went on to inspire her autobiography 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.' Just days after her attacker's release from jail he was murdered, which Angelou presumes was done by her uncles.

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Teri Hatcher - The former 'Desperate Housewives' actress was raped by her uncle at the age of five. She testified against him in 2002, and he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

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Teri Hatcher - During a United Nations event in 2004 about violence against women, Hatcher said in tears, "Until violence against women is not a part of any woman's story, silence will not be a part of mine."

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Mike Tyson - In 2014, the boxing champion revealed on the Opie Radio Show that a man kidnapped him off of the street when he was only seven years old and raped him.

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Mike Tyson - Tyson said that the man "bullied and sexually abused" him, but that after the incident passed he never saw his attacker again.

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Oprah Winfrey - Winfrey has openly discussed the details of her traumatic childhood with the public. Her story of strength and perseverance has continued to be a source of inspiration for others.

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Mary J. Blige - When she was growing up, Blige was sexually harassed and abused from the age of five into adulthood. The singer has admitted that this made her turn to drugs and alcohol.

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Madonna - During an interview with Howard Stern, the Queen of Pop opened up about how she was raped by a stranger when she was 19. She was ashamed after the incident occurred and never reported it.

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Tyler Perry - In a revealing interview with Oprah in 2010, the actor/producer told the world he was abused as a child by several adults in his life.

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Queen Latifah - The rapper/actress revealed in an interview with Essence magazine in 2009 that she was molested by a babysitter when she was five years old.

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Queen Latifah - Latifah stated, “I was a kid, and I had no power or control over the situation. I really wish I’d had the strength and the knowledge to say something sooner.”

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