Everyone endures some traumas during childhood. No one has a perfect life or a perfect family. Everybody goes through ups and downs, and when kids are caught in the middle, it can have lasting effects on their psyche and emotional well-being. In some cases, it can even impact their physical health. This is no truer than it is for kids who have survived child abuse, and celebrities aren’t exempt from that.

It can be very difficult to go through the realization that one has been abused, and it’s even harder to do in in the public eye. The press are not forgiving and they don’t care about the privacy of celebrities. After all, they signed up for that lifestyle. They must take the good with the bad.

But just how far are we pushing these people? Are their stories of child abuse really helping others, or is it just another way for the tabloids to exploit the lives of the rich and famous for a check? That answer probably varies with each story. Their stories touch a lot of people, and some are responsible for giving those folks the courage they needed to step up and say “I was abused, and it’s not okay.”

15 Drew Barrymore

Most people recognize Drew Barrymore as the all-American girl next door. She came into our homes and hearts in roles in films like E.T. and Fifty First Dates, and we never questioned what was behind all the laughter and that charming dimpled smile.

Drew was abused for the majority of her childhood years. Her parents were both addicts, and they regularly neglected Drew. Her mother, herself being a product of parents who were also rarely present, didn’t seem to know how to be a good mother. Perhaps that’s why she introduced Drew to the world of men, drugs and booze at just 9-years old.

By 13, she was in rehab for addiction issues. By 14, she was emancipated from her parents. With two children, Olive and Frankie, looking up to her, it is Drew’s new mission in life to be a very present parent.

14 Christina Aguilera

It might surprise a lot of people to know that this mouseketeer was living a life that was far from perfect growing up in Rochester, Pennsylvania. One of five children, she wasn’t the only child suffering from abuse at the hands of her father.

She has been quoted as saying the pain she endured in her home life is something that made her turn toward music as a form of relief. It was her escape. Her safe haven when she wasn’t feeling particularly protected.

At just four years old, Christina was discovered by her mother, Shelley. Her young daughter had blood gushing from her face. When she reacted, alarmed, and asked what happened, Christina told her that her father had wanted to take a nap and Christina was being too noisy. Fortunately, Shelley left Christina’s father, Fausto, in 1989 and never looked back.

13 Chris Brown

Chris Brown was charged with battery after his then-girlfriend Rhianna was hospitalized for injuries to various parts of her body. Later reports would detail that the couple got into an argument that escalated, and Brown got violent. This would mark the beginning of several public displays of Brown’s temper and violent tendencies.

But where does it all come from? Children who endure domestic violence themselves are three times more likely to grow up and engage in the same behavior. Brown has spoken to the media about watching his stepfather abuse his mother for years — even well into the development of Brown’s career as a recording artist. Brown has remarked how terrified he was growing up in that household and how he hates the man who hurt his mother that way still.

12 Marilyn Manson

No one should be surprised that Brian Warner — better known by his stage name of Marilyn Manson — has suffered through some pretty treacherous things in his lifetime that have led to him penning many of his popular songs about substance abuse, murder, suicide, abuse, and more.

Instead of rising above the madness of his youth — which included sexual abuse — he dug deeper into it. He balked at the system and tested every boundary. He questioned authority and made sure people knew he meant business.

While some people might see him as a creep, the man behind the make-up is intellectual and full of conversation. He is far from a broken person who has let his bad experiences define him. Instead, he used them to his benefit to create artistry that millions of people have identified with. Isn’t that the point of art?

11 Roseanne Barr

During the height of her career while filming her self-titled hit sitcom, Roseanne Barr decided to come clean with the public about her childhood. It was a story that would make viewers look at her in a whole new light and marvel at how far she’d come from an upbringing that should’ve left her destitute and broken.

Roseanne detailed stories of her mother telling her she’d wished her daughter had died in an accident, and remarked that her father used to burst into the bathroom while she was bathing to try to record her on video.

At the time, Roseanne was married to Tom Arnold, who has also revealed that he was abused as a child. Roseanne’s parents, Jerome and Heidi Barr, have always denied Roseanne’s allegations, but she remains adamant to this day about what she says happened to her.

10 Chevy Chase

While most people would smile at the mere mention of this famed comedian’s name, Chevy Chase has harbored some dark secrets for a very long time. He revealed those secrets to the world with the help of author Rena Fruchter in her 2010 book, I’m Chevy Chase… And You’re Not.

Parts of the book detail regular abuse toward Chevy at the hands of his stepfather, who was an angry man that accepted no excuses. Chevy was tormented by his home life and his grades in school suffered because of it, but his IQ was high. So, poor grades were hardly tolerated in the family home.

Regular beatdowns and hours spent in bedroom closets as punishment weren’t out of the ordinary. He has described himself as a sensitive child that struggled to feel normal. Constantly trying to find his place in the world, Chase lived in fear of the man that dominated his household.

9 Charlize Theron

Only about a year ago, Charlize Theron’s name was dragged perpetually through the mud when news reports broke out that she was dragging her four-year old son to the car after he ensued in a very public tantrum. Onlookers actually called the police on her out of concern for her child. But Charlize wasn’t the abuser in this story.

Instead, she was deeply disturbed by the claims that she would harm her child given that she suffered through that kind of pain herself as a kid. It turned out, her son Jackson was seriously throwing a tantrum, and that’s all it was.

As for Charlize, her story is much darker than a moody day in the park. She endured years of physical and verbal abuse by her father. It would come to a screeching halt when she was 15-years old and witnessed her father, in an alcoholic rage, be killed by her own mother in self-defense.

8 Axl Rose

Recognized as the powerful lead singer of Guns ‘N Roses, Axl Rose never could’ve imagined where his life was going to lead all those years ago when he was stuck in a home of abuse. Rose opted for regression therapy to help reveal memories he had suppressed, and it turned his whole world upside-down when it worked.

He remembered being sexually abused by his biological father and physically abused alongside his half-siblings by his stepfather. Rose had actually been raised by his stepfather for most of his life, and until he was 17-years old, believed that was his real father. It isn’t a wonder that Axl ended up on a road paved with sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll considering the number of revelations he had to endure at such a young age.

7 Maya Angelou

To understand the savage and raw emotion behind the words that Maya would write and speak, it is important to grasp what she overcome to be able to say those words. When Angelou penned her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in 1969, she laid out her entire soul, bare for the world to see.

It was that book that would divulge her past to the rest of the planet. She had been raped and abused at the tender age of 8 by her mother’s boyfriend. The man, named Freeman, was outed by Angelou’s brother — the only soul she dared to confide in. He went to jail for just one day, and was killed within days of his release. It is suspected this was at the hands of Angelou’s family. The poet laureate went mute for five years following this trauma out of her belief that she caused his death.

6 Demi Lovato

Lovato was so moved and profoundly changed by her experience being abused as a child that she even sang a song about it titled, Father, from her album, Confident. While she’s never gone into detail about what kind of abuse she endured and the forms it came in, Lovato has been clear that her father suffered from mental illness. One could speculate it was the same illness she herself suffers from, bipolar disorder.

Lovato has been quoted as saying her father was incapable of being a parent. Her father, Patrick, died in 2013, and she admits she struggled a great deal with whether or not it was appropriate to open herself up to the public about what he put her through. As always though, Demi decided that the only way to remain an authentic artist was to be honest with her fans, and so she was. It must have been freeing, in a way.

5 Julianne Hough

Julianne Hough’s story is one that paints child abuse with a much different brush. When someone comes forward and says they were abused as a child, the typical listener’s point of view always redirects to the parents, or at very least, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and stepparents. But child abuse occurs at the hands of many. Just look at the latest charges against Abby Lee Miller of Dance Moms that have led to a prison sentence.

Julianne had a similar experience. She attended the Italia Conti Academy of Arts in London, England where she has remarked that she endured mental and physical abuse at just ten-years old. She has confirmed that there were attempts to sexualize her look before she was even a preteen. She was pushed to promote sex appeal before she ever knew what that was.

4 Tyler Perry

Despite the wealth and popularity Tyler Perry has built for himself today, the film master and screenwriter likely never saw this kind of life down the road from where he stood as a child. Tyler’s father, Emmitt Perry, Sr. was as physically abusive as a parent can get throughout the first 19 years of Tyler’s life.

Not only was he physically violent toward the playwright, but he regularly talked down to him and verbally abused him, too. Tyler has recounted some painful memories of his childhood and spoken publicly about them. Such as the time his father beat him with the cord to a vacuum cleaner until his skin was peeling off from his back. Tyler was actually named Emmitt Perry, Jr. after his father and purposely changed his name to further distance himself from the abusive namesake.

3 Rita Ora

This X-Factor judge’s experience with child abuse was much akin to that of Julianne Hough’s. While attending the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London to study drama, a young 14-year old Rita ended up in a relationship of sorts with a much older man of 26.

Her story teeters back and forth between child abuse and statutory rape, and a relationship that Ora says she wanted and fully participated in at the time. Looking back, she fully acknowledges that it qualified as child abuse, but she has made it clear she wasn’t harmed in any way.

Still, we must look at cases like Rita’s and question whether something is still child abuse or not just because it was wanted. A child of that age isn’t able to consent on a fully informed basis as to what they’re doing. Maybe Rita is in denial. Maybe her perspective will change if she becomes a mother.

2 Eve Ensler

Best known as the playwright of the Vagina Monologues, Even Ensler has survived a number of tough times throughout her life. Cancer couldn’t hold her down. Backlash from anti-feminist movements couldn’t silence her. What is it about the vagina that gets Ensler so fired up? It’s a deep connection to rape, violence against women, and incest.

She was routinely abused by her father as a child. When daughters are harmed by their dads in this way, it sets a precedent in their mind that they are unworthy, and that men will only show them affection and adore them if they surrender all control to them — even control over their own bodies. Ensler credits her childhood abuse to setting the stage for the rape she endured later in life. Eve has turned her tragedy into triumph and works tirelessly to promote her One Billion Rising campaign to end violence against women.

1 Oprah Winfrey

Anyone who followed the talk show hostess throughout her years on television likely already knows the truth behind the fame and fortune that Oprah has come to garner for herself today. Raised in a poor family in a small town in Mississippi, Oprah was raped by a family member and beaten regularly.

Oprah recounted one such time when she was sent outside to fetch water from the family well. She carried the bucket of water back to the house and played in it with her fingers — something her grandmother caught her doing with great displeasure.

Oprah was beaten so badly for this that it caused welts to form on her backside that bled. When they bled through her church dress later that week, she was beaten again and blamed for that. Judging from the life she lives today, most people would never have guessed that the media mogul grew up this way.

Sources: Childhood Domestic Violence Association, Rolling Stone, CNN, Irish Examiner