Renowned actress Sharon Stone candidly opens up about one of the most challenging periods in her life – a harrowing experience in 2001 when she was given a mere 1 percent chance of survival after a ruptured vertebral artery caused a nine-day brain bleed.
Reflecting on that trying time, Stone, 65, acknowledges that her father was the sole pillar of support. She shares, “My father was there for me, but I would say that was about it. I understand if you want to live with solid citizens, don’t come to Hollywood.”
Before this health crisis, Stone was flourishing both in her career and personal life. She had earned her first Oscar nomination for “Casino” five years earlier. Moreover, she had recently welcomed her son Roan, now 23, through adoption with her husband, newspaper editor Phil Bronstein. (Subsequently, Stone expanded her family by adopting two more sons: Laird, 18, and Quinn, 17.)
However, the incident took a toll on her marriage (she and Bronstein divorced in 2004) and, she recalls, Hollywood seemed to withdraw its embrace.
“I lost everything,” she reveals. “I lost all my money. I lost custody of my child. I lost my career. I lost all those things that you feel are your real identity and your life.”
While some aspects of her former life remained elusive, Stone has now reached a point of acceptance and self-acknowledgment. She affirms, “I never really got most of it back, but I’ve reached a point where I’m okay with it, where I really do recognize that I’m enough.”
In the present day, Stone is an integral part of the Barrow Neurological Foundation, which champions the medical institute led by her brain surgeon, Dr. Michael Lawton, in Arizona. She is set to host their annual Neuro Night fundraiser on Oct. 27. The Foundation’s mission, as stated on its website, is “saving human lives through innovative treatment, groundbreaking, curative research and educating the next generation of the world’s leading neuro clinicians.”
Dr. Lawton hails Stone as an inspiration for those grappling with neurological challenges, emphasizing the impact she has had in this field.
Additionally, Stone has immersed herself in painting and taken up pickleball – two passions she once believed were beyond her reach. She describes pickleball as “just so much fun,” and attests that painting has been instrumental in helping her find her innermost essence.