Sharon Stone On How Hollywood Dropped Her After Her Stroke in 2001
Sharon Stone was a much-coveted actress during her prime. A top pick who brought life to femme fatale characters, mystery movies, and television series, Stone was considered a Hollywood success.
That is until she suffered a stroke and a near-fatal brain hemorrhage in 2001.
After this, Hollywood, who had been adoring and following her, seems to have dropped this once-coveted actress.
In 2001, Sharon’s doctor informed her that the 9-day brain bleed meant that she only had a 1% survival. But like the strong-willed and determined characters she played in her career, she defeated the odds and has now recovered. This recovery, however, has not been as sweet and victorious for the Basic Instinct actress because she struggled to find work for the next 20 years after that.
While hosting THR’s Raising Our Voices luncheon gala last week, Sharon admitted, “I recovered for seven years, and I haven’t had a job since.”
Sharon revealed that when it first happened, she refused to share her predicament with anyone because she knew that if something had gone wrong, she’d have been out. And unfortunately, something did happen to her, and she has been out for the last 20 years. The Muse actress acknowledged that she was a huge movie star at a certain point in her life.
During the same gala, the 65-year-old actress also recalled how in her career, she had to step up for herself, stand up and advocate for her well-being. “I broke a lot of glass ceilings on the top of my head,” she said.
Stone further continued, “I want to tell you that it hurts. It hurts to get paid. It hurt to fight the studio heads. It hurt to make boundaries about who could come in my trailer and what they could ask for; boundaries about the fact that I didn’t want to sign my contract in my makeup trailer on the day that I started a show.”
“It hurt to say that I had, like any corporation, the opportunity to have my lawyer read my contract and that I didn’t have to start the show signing my unread contract in the makeup trailer.”
The mother-of-three further acknowledged that standing up for herself has caused her a lot of problems, often putting a roadblock in her career.
One of the central themes of the event was diversity, and Sharon shared why she believes self-advocacy is essential and life-changing.
For Sharon, diversity means plenty of things. It can be an injury or the color of one’s skin, and diversity can also mean standing up for oneself. The actress shared that if you are diverse, you should learn to demand a position in the industry.
Sharon then shared the diligent work she’s been doing with the World Health Organization and the United Nations in helping raise voices that need to be heard. And this is where she encouraged people to demand their rightful place in whatever industry they’re in.
