Sharon Stone opens up about losing $18 million after having a stroke

Sharon Stone had to start over, years after having found success in her career. The actress, who's been involved with numerous notorious projects like "Basic Instinct" and "Casino," is opening up about the incident in her life that forced her to start over.

© Christopher Polk

Stone suffered a stroke in 2001, resulting in a brain bleed that lasted for 9 days, and took her a long time to recover from. It wasn't until seven years had passed that Stone returned to making films. 

“Everything changed,” Stone said in a 2024 interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “My sense of smell, my sight, my touch. I couldn’t read for a couple of years. Things were stretched and I was seeing color patterns. A lot of people thought I was going to die.”

Stone shared that one of the most difficult losses was her finances. As she recovered, a lot of her assets and life were handled by other people, who mismanaged them. 

© GettyImages

“I had $18 million saved because of all my success, but when I got back into my bank account, it was all gone,” she said. “My refrigerator, my phone — everything was in other people’s names.”

Still, Stone shared that she's been able to let go of her anger and her fear over her health. “I decided not to hang onto being sick or to any bitterness or anger. If you bite into the seed of bitterness, it never leaves you,” she said. 

“But if you hold faith, even if that faith is the size of a mustard seed, you will survive. So, I live for joy now. I live for purpose.”

© WireImage

Stone's acting career continues

Since, Stone has been featured in many films and TV shows, including "The Young Pope," "Ratched," and "The Flight Attendant." In the future, she'll be featured in the third season of the hit series "Euphoria," starring Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, and more. 

“There is little more exciting than going to work with this team of thrilling talent,” said Stone in a statement.

“From the genius of Sam Levinson to the raw sophistication of this profoundly moving cast and tight crew. I am honored to be Euphoric.”

© Corbis via Getty Images