Beating her demons SALLY'S STOLEN CHILDHOOD

The Hollywood legend waited until her mum was on her deathbed to speak out

When Sally W Field stood in front of the audience at the SAG Awards this year, she was clearly thrilled to receive the acting union's highest honour - the Life Achievement Award.

"I first found the stage when I was 12 years old," the actress, 76, told the crowd. "And after that, I never left the drama department. I found this magic on stage. It was the one place I could be freely me, more than any other place."

Back then - almost 65 years ago - Sally needed all the magic she could get because although on stage she could be anyone and anything she wanted, she was hiding a secret she hadn't dared to share: she was being sexually abused by her stepfather. It would be another two years before the abuse stopped. The trauma, though, never left her.

Throughout the years of Sally's stellar career, in which she won three Emmys, two Oscars and millions of adoring fans, the Mrs Doubtfire star says she often struggled with memories of the abuse and says she stayed quiet about it for so long "because I didn't know I had a voice".

Five years ago, however, she found her voice. And the act of speaking out about what had happened all those years ago helped her to finally put it where it belonged in her past.