My Favorite Survivor Role Models

• Eve Ensler, writer (The Vagina Monologues, Necessary Targets, The Good Body, Insecure at Last, I Am an Emotional Creature) and activist (V-Day):  child abuse and incest
  • Eve Ensler’s New Play: O.P.C. [Obsessive Political Correctness]
  • Happy Birthday, Eve Ensler!
  • Happy V-Day, 2012!

• Alice Miller, psychologist/writer (The Drama of the Gifted Child, Breaking Down the Wall of Silence, The Body Never Lies, The Truth Will Set You Free, etc.):  child abuse

• Tyler Perry, comedy/writer (Don’t Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings), producer (Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Precious/PUSH, Madea’s Family Reunion, I Can Do Bad All By Myself):  child abuse
  • Sense of Humor: Get Yourself Some Madea Going On!
  • Happy 40th Birthday, Tyler Perry: I Can Do Bad All by Myself
  • Review:  Tyler Perry’s MADEA’S BIG HAPPY FAMILY in Seattle
  • PUSH/Precious: Nominated for Six Oscars!
  • Bravo: Tyler Perry Up for 19 NAACP Awards Tonight on Fox
  • Tyler Perry: “It’s going to be all right.”

   

Gloria Steinem, feminist/writer/Ms. Magazine (Revolution from Within):  child abuse

• Gloria Steinem:  Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions
• Ms. Foundation:  Outrageous Acts Campaign

• Tina Turner, singer/actress (I, Tina):  child abuse and neglect; domestic violence (Ike Turner)

Child Abuse/Neglect/Bullying Survivors Who Are Making a Difference

• Christina Aguilera, pop singer/songwriter:  Womens Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburg; Lifetime’s End Violence Against Women Campaign
• Walter Anderson, reitred Parade Magazine Chairman & CEO (Breaking the Silence:  Children’s Stories, a PBS documentary; Meant to Be)
• Jodee Blanco, anti-bullying activist (The Evolving Woman, Please Stop Laughing at Me, Please Stop Laughing at Us)
• Mary J. Blige, singer/songwriter/actress:  FFAWN, The Mary J. Blige Center for Women, Yonkers, NY
• Doris Buffett, philanthropist:  Sunshine Lady Foundation
• William J. Clinton, former president:  Violence Against Women Act (My Life)
• Pat Conroy, best selling author/screenwriter (father was an officer in the U.S. Marines, Prince of Tides. The Great Santini)
• Lee Daniels, movie director (father was a police officer, Precious/PUSH)
• Sheriff David Drew, Sioux City, Iowa
• Sally Field, actress: multiple DV charities
• Jane Fonda, actress:  Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Preventionn (G-CAPP); V-Day (My Life, So Far)
• Billy G. Hudson, Ph.D., entrepreneur/Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry:  Aspirnaut Initiative
• Dr. Patrick J. Kelly, physician
• Margaret Larson, host, New Day Northwest, KING5 (NBC affiliate), Seattle, WA
• Kate Middleton, engaged to Prince William/bullying; Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton Charitable Gift Fund to benefit Beatbullying
• Susan Murphy-Milano, activist/writer (father was a police officer, Defending Our Lives)
• WA Rep. Toby Nixon (R), politician
• Rosie O’Donnell, comedy/actress (Celebrity Detox)
• U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert (R), sheriff/congressman:  solved Green River murders; VAWA funding for the Crystal Judson Family Justice Center in Tacoma, WA
• Victor Rivas Rivers, NFL lineman/actor/activist:  Verizon Community Champion, NNEDV spokesperson
• Lorenzo Romar, Univ. of WA basketball coach:  Lorenzo Romar Foundation, Men’s Network Against DV, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes PSA
• Charlize Theron, actress (her mother shot her abusive, alcoholic father in self-defense):  V-Day
• Joe Torre, major league baseball player, coach, and executive (father was New York City police officer, Chasing the Dream, Joe Torre’s Ground Rules for Winners):  Safe at Home Foundation, Margaret’s Place, Coach Boys into Men campaign, Founding Fathers
• Clara Ward, community activist featured on Extreme Makeover:  Clara’s Way
• Sela Ward, actress; Hope Village for Children
• Wynona Ward, attorney:  Have Justice Will Travel

Child Molestation/Incest Survivors Who Are Making a Difference

• Maya Angelou, global Renaissance woman (I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Letter to My Daughter, “Phenomenal Woman”)
• Martha Beck, psychologist, life coach, O Magazine columnist (Leaving the Saints ~ her father was a leader in the Mormon church)
• Louise L. Hay, author, founder/publisher of Hay House; Hay Foundation (You Can Heal Your Life)
• Ashley Judd, actress, author, activist, and U.S. Senate candidate (KY); (All That Is Bitter and Sweet)
• Don Lemon, host of CNN Tonight with Don Lemon
• Anglea Shelton, film producer, writer, activist (Searching for Angela Shelton, Angela Shelton Foundation, National Family Court Watch Project board of directors, The Survivor Manual blog)
• Oprah Winfrey, talk show host/producer/actress (The Color Purple)
• Virginia Woolf, writer (A Room of One’s Own)

Child Abuse/Neglect/Bullying/Incest Survivors (Physical and/or Emotional)

• Pamela Anderson, actress
• Louie Anderson, comic and author
• Arcadian Broad, dance contestant on America’s Got Talent (bullying)
• Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), U.S. Senator (sexual molestation/child abuse/Against All Odds)
• Christopher Buckley, writer (son of William F. Buckley, Losing Mum and Pup)
• Augusten Burroughs, writer (his father was an Ivy League professor, Running with Scissors, A Wolf at the Table, Possible Side Effects, etc.)
• Chevy Chase, comedy/writer/actor (society family, I’m Chevy Chase. . .and You’re Not)
• Christopher Dickey, Newsweek journalist (father was poet and Deliverance writer James Dickey, Summer of Deliverance)
• Robert Allen (R.A.) Dickey, All-Star pitcher (Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleball)
• Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower, president
• Christopher Paul Gardner, investment banker/venture capitalist (The Pursuit of Happyness)
• Monique (Mo’Nique) Imes, actress
• Jewel [Kilcher], singer
• Stacey Lannert, prisoner (incest:  murdered her father)
• Michael Lisagor, executive and consultant (child abuse, Romancing the Buddha)
• Steve Martin, comedy/writer (Born Standing Up)
• Mackenzie Phillips, actress (father:  John Phillips)
• Christopher Quincy Maryatt, prosecuting attorney (descendant of John Quincy Adams)
• Frank McCourt, best-selling author (Angela’s Ashes, Tis)
• Alyse Myers, former New York Times marketing executive/writer (Who Do You Think You Are?)
• Sandra Oh, actress
• SARK, writer (A Creative Companion, Prosperity Pie, Eat Mangoes Naked, Succulent Wild Woman)
• Tavis Smiley, talk show host (What I Know for Sure)
• Norm Stamper, former Seattle, WA chief of police
• Hillary Swank, actress
• Amy Tan, best-selling author (The Joy Luck Club)
• Meg Tilly, actress/writer (Gemma, Singing Songs)
• Antonio Villaraigosa, mayor of Los Angeles, CA
• Jeannette Walls, best-selling author (Glass Castle, Half Broke Horses)
• Mary Wilshire, illustrator of female superheroes

Dating Abuse Survivors

• Christina Applegate, actress
• Robin Rihanna Fenty, singer
• Elyse Umemoto, beauty queen, platform:  “Embracing Diversity, Empowering Women.”

Sexual Assault/Sexual Harassment Survivors

• Barbara Hall, producer of Joan of Arcadia
• Jennifer Hopper, The Angel Project [breaking the silence and funding music therapy for survivors]
• Jamie Leigh Jones, administrative assistant for KBR:  Jamie Leigh Foundation (sexual assault)
• Cathy L. Lanier, Washington, DC chief of police
• Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI4), sponsor of H.R. 4116 and VAWA (sexual molestation and rape)
• Lisa Paige,  president of the Alumni Network for Harvard Women, urged alums to suspend donations until Harvard does something about sexual assaults (sexual assault)
• Gabrielle Union, actress

IPV/Domestic Violence/Stalking/Litigation Abuse Survivors Who Are Making a Difference

• • Rep. Sandy Adams (R-FL24), VAWA (domestic violence)
  • Barbara Bentley, retired quality assurance manager, political activist, writer (A Dance with the Devil, The Little Book of Success: Turn Your Dreams into Reality with Four Simple Tools):  lobbied to change CA divorce laws
  • Halle Berry, actress:  The Jenesse Center in Los Angeles, CA; Mayor’s Fund Charity in NYC
  • Vernetta Cockerham, activist (featured in August, 2009 issue of O Magazine)
  • Charlotte Fedders, ex-wife of SEC official John Fedders (Shattered Dreams)
  • Lorena Bobbitt Gallo, Realtor/cosmetologist:  Lorena’s Red Wagon
    • John Wayne Bobbitt:  Pit Bull
  • Robin Givens, actress/activist; spokesperson for the National Domestic Violence Hotline (ex-wife of Mike Tyson, Grace Will Lead Me Home)
  • Mo Therese Hannah, Ph.D., scholar/activist (Battered Mothers Custody Conference)
  • Monica Hunter, WA State Trooper
  • Carolyn Jessop, writer (ex-husband was leader of Mormon church, Escape)
  • Rita Henley Jensen, editor in chief of Women’s eNews:  Dangerous Trends, Innovative Responses
  • Kathy Lambert, King County, WA Council Person
  • Catherine Lanigan, writer (Romancing the Stone, Jewel of the Nile, Evolving Woman)
  • Rita Anita Linger, former executive director of the North Carolina Coalition
  • L.Y. Marlow, corporate executive, writer:  Color Me Butterfly; advocate:  Saving Promise campaign
  • Christy Salters Martin, boxing champion; advocate
  • Fern Michaels, best-selling romance novelist:  Revenge of the Sisterhood series
  • Prof. Linda G. Mills, JD/Ph.D./academic:  controversial viewpoint (Insult to Injury)
  • Mildred Muhammad, writer/activist:  After the Trauma (ex-wife of DC Sniper John Allen Muhammad, Scared Silent)
  • Sherri Peak, activist:  hi-tech stalking
  • Denise Richards, actress (ex-wife of Charlie Sheen/spoke up for Brooke Mueller, his next ex-wife)
  • Kalyn Risker, human resources manager/activist:  SAFE, Detroit
  • Joanne “J.K.” Rowling, novelist (Harry Potter)/activist:  Volant Charitable Trust, YWCA’s 104 Pairs of Shoes, etc.
  • Nancy P. Tyler, attorney:  CT Coalition
  • Iyanla Vanzant, attorney/writer/spiritual leader (Faith in the Valley, In the Meantime, One Day My Soul Just Opened Up, etc.)
  • Elissa Wall, FLDS child bride (testified against Warren Jeffs, Stolen Innocence)
  • Dr. Michelle Ward, criminal psychologist (stalking, host of Stalked:  Someone’s Watching)
  • Prof. Elaine Weiss, University of Utah School of Medicine (Surviving Domestic Violence:  Voices of Women Who Broke Free)
  • Karen M. Welch (stalking/changed NJ’s stalking laws/”Dangerous Games”)
  • Michele Weldon, journalist/writer; Between Friends and Sarah’s Inn (ex-wife of attorney, I Closed My Eyes, Writing to Save Your Life)
  • Marie C. Wilson, The White House Project and She Source (Closing the Leadership Gap:  Why Women Can and Must Help Run the World)

IPV/Domestic Violence/Litigation Abuse Survivors (Emotional, Financial, Physical, Spousal Rape, Adultery)

• • Sandra Boss, corporate consultant (her ex-husband “Clark Rockefeller” kidnapped her daughter)
  • Christine Brinkley, model/actress (divorcing a narcissist)
  • Juanita Bynum, televangelist (two marriages)
  • Connie Culp, received facial transplant
  • Carlene Cross, writer/instructor (ex-wife of mega-church preacher, Fleeing Fundamentalism)
  • Elizabeth Edwards, attorney (wife of Sen. John Edwards, D-NC)
  • Mary Margaret Farren, attorney at Skadden, Arps (estranged wife of J. Michael Farren, deputy White House counsel in G.W. Bush Administration)
  • Dorothy Gardner King Lynch Ford, First Mother (Pres. Gerald R. Ford)
  • Elizabeth Gilbert, writer (Eat, Pray, Love; Committed)
  • Katharine Graham, publisher of the Washington Post (Personal History)
  • Lula Hardaway, mother of Stevie Wonder (Blind Faith)
  • Whitney Houston, singer/actress/model (ex-wife of Bobby Brown)
  • Dr. Kate Jewell, physician
  • Beverly Johnson, supermodel, actress, singer, beauty mogul (IPV)
  • Virginia Dell Cassidy Blythe Clinton Dwire Kelley, First Mother (Leading with My Heart)
  • Dr. Jeanne I. King, psychologist (ex-wife of an OB/Gyn MD, All But My Soul)
  • Dr. Christine McFadden, veterinarian; MSSM Foundation (ex-husband murdered all four of their children)
  • Brooke Mueller (ex-wife of Charlie Sheen)
  • Vicki Myron, librarian (Dewey)
  • Terry O’Neill, president of NOW
  • Katha Pollitt, feminist poet/The Nation columnist (Learning to Drive)
  • Emily Post, etiquette maven
  • JoAnn Viola Salazar, attorney/librarian
  • Jenny Sullivan Sanford, heiress/investment banker/former First Lady of SC (ex-wife of Gov. Mark Sanford ~ ”hiking the Appalachian Trail”, Staying True)
  • Barbara Sheehan, prisoner (murdered her husband:  New York City police officer)
  • Dr. Robin L. Smith, psychologist/Oprah contributor (Lies at the Altar)
  • Leslie Morgan Steiner, Harvard graduate/writer (Crazy Love)
  • Donna Summer, singer/songwriter
  • Elizabeth Taylor, Academy Award winning actress/perfume mogul/HIV, AIDS activist
  • Hanah Nyala West, tracker/writer/Ph.D. candidate (Point Last Seen)
  • Mary C. White, WA teacher
  • Debra Winans, gospel singer (ex-wife of BeBe Winans)

Multiple or Unspecified Experiences of Abuse

• • Karen Armstrong, writer/former nun/comparative religion (The Spiral Staircase)
  • Cheryl Burke, dancer (sexual molestation and dating violence in two relationships, Dancing Lessons
  • Ellen Burstyn, actress (Lessons in Becoming Myself)
  • Georgia Durante, stunt driver (incest/ex-wife of a mobster/domestic violence/stalking, The Company She Keeps)
  • Ann Goetting, professor (Getting Out)
  • Erin Gray, model/actress:  Haven House, National Coalition Against DV, co-produced PSAs, speaker
  • Quincy Lucas, teacher (her sister was murdered by her ex-boyfriend/founder of Witney’s L.I.G.H.T.S./introduced Joe Biden at the Democratic Convention in 2008)
  • S. Epatha Merkerson, actress
  • Prof. Karen J. Wilson (When Violence Begins at Home)

© 2010-2012, Anne Caroline Drake

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