Actress Ashley Judd, who has appeared in over twenty different movies, attended Sayre. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Judd, as YouthAIDS Global Ambassador, speaks at an event in South Africa (January 2005) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ashley Judd (Photo credit: Genevieve719)

Cover of Ashley Judd

Ashley (Photo credit: Jeff Youngstrom)Actress Ashley Judd reveals her assault nightmare in new memoir | Mail Online

'My sexual abuse hell': Actress Ashley Judd reveals distressing childhood in new memoir

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
UPDATED: 16:14 EST, 30 March 2011

Ashley Judd was once one of Hollywood's highest paid women and moved from one amazing on screen performance to another.

But she hid deep secrets from her childhood that had left her with deep psychological scars, that now, in her new memoir, she finally feels strong enough to open up about.

Judd has confessed that she was abused repeatedly and suffered a traumatic childhood.

Opening up: Hollywood actress Ashley Judd is revealing in her new book All That Is Bitter & Sweet that she was abused repeatedly in her troubled childhood

In her new book All That Is Bitter & Sweet, the actress reveals details of her torturous childhood that led to her considering taking her own life.

Ashley says she went to 13 different schools between ages five and 18 and grew up feeling unloved and unwanted as her singer mother Naomi and sister Wynonna travelled around the country trying to make a name for themselves.

Her parents divorced when Ashley was four-years-old and the actress admitted to suffering from depression from when she was as young as seven.

The 42-year-old says the first of the many sexual assaults she endured was when she was still living in Kentucky, where Naomi had moved the family after her divorce from Michael Ciminella.

The Judds: Ashley (centre) is part of country music royalty - her mother Naomi (left) and elder half sister Wynonna (right) are regulars on the touring circuit around the country

The Judds: Ashley is part of country music royalty - her mother Naomi and elder half sister Wynonna are regulars on the touring circuit around the country (pictured in 2005)

The National Enquirer reveals how Ashley recalls in graphic detail being pulled into a dark, empty store by an older man who offered her a quarter to play a pinball machine.

The vivid memories of how he grabbed her and molested her while putting his tongue in her mouth.

She managed to fight the perpetrator off but says when she revealed her trauma to adults in her life, no one believed her which left her devastated.

Ashley writes in her tome that her mother's volatile relationships with men were very disturbing to her growing up.

The Double Jeopardy star said she was traumatised when she was exposed to inappropriate sexuality and heard loud sexual noises coming from a room in her home.

Abuse claims: Ashley (left) says she had a traumatising childhood growing up in Kentucky

Abuse claims: Ashley says she had a traumatising childhood growing up in Kentucky

She also witnessed Naomi involved in fights with men, including once when her mother pulled a gun.

Ashley recalls playing with the weapon and loading bullets into the chamber, spinning it, cocking the trigger and holding it to her head.

While the beauty was still in high school, she won a teen modelling competition that gave her a prize of a two-month contract in Japan.

She was hoping this would be an opportunity to get away from the misery of her life and have a fresh start.

In love: The joy of Ashley's life is her Scottish auto racer husband Dario Franchitti

But during the modelling trip, she had inappropriate advances from one of the managers and a male model tried to force her to perform oral sex on him.

To further add to her distress, when accepting a ride from a Frenchman during her stay, he attempted to rape her in his car.

Throughout all of her trials and tribulations, Ashley remained resolute and attended the University of Kentucky where she learned her craft and made the move to Hollywood where she became an acclaimed actress.

Starring in movies like Kiss the Girls, De-Lovely, and most recently the comedy Tooth Fairy.

Giving back: Ashley is an avid philanthropist spending time in Southeast Asia and Africa helping the underprivileged

The joy of Ashley's life has come in the form of Scottish race car driver Dario Franchitti.

They married in 2001 and split their time between Franchitti's native Scotland and a farm in Tennessee on a large estate that she shares with her mother and sister.

Ashley says she still suffers from bouts of deep depression and explains in her book that she finally decided to get help for her emotional issues and checked herself into Shades of Hope rehab centre in Texas.

During her stay at the compound, Ashley wrote that her therapy sessions revealed suppressed memories of childhood incest she says she suffered at the hands of a family member - although she does not name the relative.

Ashley says she wrote the book to encourage other abuse survivors to speak out without feeling shame and stigma about depression, codependency and other adult-child issues.

Red carpet beauty: Ashley was once one of the highest paid women in Hollywood starring in movies like Double Jeopardy and Kiss The Girls

A publishing insider told The Enquirer: 'With the support of her husband Dario, Ashley's found the strength to let the public know the horror of her youth'.

The source added about the book: 'It's sure to become a best-seller. There's no question the revelations could have lasting effects on her relationship with her mother and other family members. But Ashley is comfortable with her decision to write this courageous book.'

The book has already received critical acclaim and words of support from her famous friends like Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Morgan Freeman.

Archbishop Tutu said: 'As I read her account of her childhood, I ask 'How could one so traumatized, so abused in childhood, become the woman we know, so caring, so altruistic, so compassionate, so concerned for others, and so joyful?'

In 2002, Ashley said she found her true calling - as a humanitarian and advocate of those suffering in neglected parts of the world.

Baring all: Country singers Naomi and Ashley's elder half-sister Wynonna are set to star in their own reality series on OWN called The Judds

Baring all: Country singers Naomi (right) and Ashley's elder half-sister Wynonna (left) are set to star in their own reality series on OWN called The Judds

Having starred in numerous films, Ashley seemed to retreat from the limelight as one of the highest paid women in Hollywood.

After her first trip to Southeast Asia where she was exposed to the notorious brothels, slums and hospices, Ashley knew she had to help those that were vulnerable.

She promised each of her new sisters: 'I will never forget you'.

Ashley began writing diaries from her extraordinary experiences - and it is on this that her memoir is based, as well as sharing her own stories.

Her mother Naomi and sister Wynonna are set to star in their own reality series called The Judds which is going to air on Oprah Winfrey's new network, OWN.

The series will premiere April 10 and will follow the mother-daughter duo on their final concert tour and explore their complex relationship.

All That Is Bitter and Sweet by Ashley Judd is released on April 5.