Darryl Hannah is speaking out about a painful near-miss in her late teens when she got duped into travelling from LA to Las Vegas to supposedly model for an album cover. Hannah and another woman realized that they were going to be trapped in a sex slave ring and escaped out a window.

Now she’s campaigning for women that are tricked into travelling far from their homes under the guise of being nannies, teachers, and models. They become trapped in prostitution in foreign countries including America and cannot escape from their terrible situations as their passports and all their money are taken away:

Daryl Hannah narrowly avoided being sold as a sex slave in Las Vegas in the late 1970s and is now coming forward with her seedy secret to help others forced into prostitution. The actress, who has joined forces with international human rights groups to help free sex slaves, reveals she was studying theatre in Los Angeles when she leaped at the chance to model for an album cover in Sin City.

The 46-year-old told crime show America’s Most Wanted that she quickly realized the modeling trip was a scam and she was about to be forced into a sex-slave ring. Hannah told show host John Walsh she and another girl escaped out a window and fled back to Los Angeles, but she has always been haunted by the memory of how close she came to becoming forced into prostitution.

Hannah donned a wig to go undercover and film a documentary about sex slavery rings worldwide. She funded the project herself and put herself in grave danger with hidden cameras and microphones strapped to her body.

Hannah is an avid environmentalist, and has an online show about her efforts to bring awareness to environmental causes. [via ecorazzi]