See Also: Teri Hatcher (Susan Mayer) People Guide

Teri Hatcher (Susan Mayer) recently opened her heart to Vanity Fair, and revealed that she was sexually abused as a child by her uncle. Hatcher first broke her silence back in 2002 when she learned that a 14-year-old victim of her uncle had committed suicide. With the prospect of him escaping charges, she stepped forward and told prosecutors what he done.

"This is something I've tried to hide my whole life," Hatcher told the magazine, reported Washington Post. "I was just blown away by this young girl's pain. I thought, boy, that's really close to being me. Any day of the week I could feel that sort of pain. I haven't tried to kill myself, but I've certainly thought about it."

Hatcher hesitated in coming forward at the time, afraid that her actions would be taken as an attempt to revive her career. "Here's what I anticipated. He did this, he gets off, and Teri ends up on the cover of a tabloid," she said. But Hatcher's testimony was pivotal, and her uncle pleaded guilty and was jailed for fourteen years. "Without Teri, this case would have been dismissed," said Chuck Gillingham, Santa Clara County deputy district attorney."

But Hatcher said the pain is still with her, 35 years later. "These are haunting things that I've remembered all my life," she said. "I have so much pain. I'm a woman who carries around all these layers of fear and vulnerability. I'm trying to be my powerful me."

The full interview with Hatcher can be found in Vanity Fair, which is out this week. The magazine's official website can be found here. Washington Post's original article can be read here.

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