Shockingly, some of the greatest, most powerful women have also been the victims of horrific violence. More power to them for overcoming it.

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5. Madonna: She just revealed in an interview that when she was an unknown in New York City, she was raped at knife point.

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4. Tori Amos: She was raped at gunpoint when she was 21 and a struggling artist. She later wrote the song “Me and a Gun” about it.

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3. Connie Francis: She was raped by a deranged fan in 1974, which derailed her singing career for many years.

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2. Billie Holliday: What didn’t happen to Billie Holliday? She lived through it all. She was raped when she was 11 by a neighbor, who went to prison for it.

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1. Oprah Winfrey: She was sexually abused by a relative and had a baby by him at age 14, though the baby did not survive.