When the star, who played Cordelia in the hit series, was just 21, she was attacked by a serial rapist as she swam with friends off a California beach.

A masked man approached her and two male friends with a gun, forcing Charisma to tie them up before raping her close by. Her friends were both shot, with the assailant Henry Hubbard Junior also receiving a gunshot wound to the hand as the friends tried to overpower him.

Shockingly, Hubbard Junior was a former police officer, but he is now serving 56 years in prison for his horrendous crimes.

CHARISMA CARPENTER CELEBRATES 44TH BIRTHDAY WITH REVEALING SNAP

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But Charisma has now revealed that despite the trauma, and the therapy she had to endure to get over the attack, she has not let the incident ruin her life, saying: 'I've had so many blessings and bigger and better things have happened to me that have overshadowed that night. You can have a good life even after something terrible has happened to you.'

The 44-year-old added that her connection with her fans has also improved since she revealed her past, saying: 'When you share something personal and intense, people are less inclined to think of you as a celebrity and more of a human being.'

Carpenter revealed her ordeal on an episode of 'Surviving Evil,' after which she was forced to tell her 11-year-old son because his classmate watched the show.

'We talked about it and I said: "It can be a dangerous world and that's why Mommy is very protective of you."'

We're so glad to hear Charisma has overcome her past demons.