From Rags To Riches: The Life And Times Of Oprah

Struggling With Abuse

Photo by Erin Combs / Toronto Star / Getty Images

During this time, Oprah dealt with a variety of abuse in her young adult life. She has stated that she was molested by her uncle, cousin, and a family friend. Fed up with years of abuse, she tried to run away from home at the age of 13. She became pregnant at the age of 14, but her child, Canaan, was born prematurely and died not long after birth.

Having to return back home, Oprah would struggle with this continued abuse for years. When she was 24 she opened up to family members to discuss her abuse, but they dismissed her story as false. This dismissal would send Oprah on a destructive path throughout her early teenage years.