The Tragic Truth About Sharon Stone's Health Issues
In the 1990s, Sharon Stone made a name for herself as one of the most iconic femme fatales in all of Hollywood, starring in films like "Total Recall," "Casino," and, of course, "Basic Instinct." She's still going strong in the acting world today, more recently gracing the big screen in "Nobody 2" and "What About Love." However, Stone's presence in the public eye noticeably diminished around the turn of the century. She's even floated the idea of quitting acting for good, leading many to wonder what exactly happened to her. Well, for all her success, Stone has also faced her share of tragedy in her life – and the severe health emergency that nearly ended her life in 2001 resulted in lasting consequences you may not even be aware of.
Speaking to Vogue in October 2023, Stone recalled suffering a stroke in the form of a subarachnoid hemorrhage back in 2001. In addition to the intense physical pain, Stone described the frustration of not being taken seriously by hospital staff members during the frightening experience. "They missed it with the first angiogram and decided that I was faking it. My best friend talked them into giving me a second one and they discovered that I had been hemorrhaging into my brain, my whole subarachnoid pool, and that my vertebral artery was ruptured. I would have died if they had sent me home," the actress said.
Though a surgical procedure ultimately saved Stone's life, her difficult health journey was far from over, as the recovery process would last for several years. "I bled so much into my subarachnoid pool [head, neck, and spine] that the right side of my face fell, my left foot was dragging severely, and I was stuttering very badly," she recalled, adding that certain complications still linger more than two decades on.
Sharon Stone says she was financially exploited during her stroke recovery
During her Vogue interview in 2023, Sharon Stone remarked that, at the time, she was still taking daily meds as a result of her stroke 22 years earlier, mainly to combat the stuttering she mentioned, as well as lingering (and very serious) brain seizures. Still, it seems like by far the most difficult period of time was her initial seven-year recovery. As she told Vogue, "For the first couple of years I would also get these weird knuckle-like knots that would come up all over the top of my head that felt like I was getting punched. I can't express how painful it all was."
Of course, the pain Stone experienced wasn't just physical, mental, and emotional — it was also financial. During a separate interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2024, the "Basic Instinct" star explained that she had been financially exploited by those around her during those first seven years post-stroke. "I had $18 million saved because of all my success, but when I got back into my bank account, it was all gone," Stone said, adding, "My refrigerator, my phone — everything was in other people's names. ... I had zero money."
It's not hard to see how some bad actors might have seen Stone's finances as an easy target following her procedure, as the actress also told The Hollywood Reporter that she was unable to even read for a time. "Things were stretched and I was seeing color patterns. A lot of people thought I was going to die," Stone said. However, she refused to give in to resentment. "If you bite into the seed of bitterness, it never leaves you. ... So, I live for joy now. I live for purpose," Stone concluded.