Sharon Stone revealed that she lost a whopping $18 million while she fought for her life after suffering a crippling stroke in 2001.
Stone said the stroke led to a brain bleed that required intense medical care, and while her focus was on her long road to recovery, she said people around her took advantage of her by taking her money, according to an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Tuesday. The famous actress was given a 1% chance of survival, had 23 platinum coils surgically implanted in her brain and lost hearing in one ear. It took her a full seven years to recover, and during this ordeal, her finances were drained, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 17: Sharon Stone attends the Los Angeles premiere of Focus Features’ “The Bikeriders” at TCL Chinese Theatre on June 17, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
“People took advantage of me over that time,” Stone said in the interview. “I had $18 million saved because of all my success, but when I got back into my bank account, it was all gone.”
“My refrigerator, my phone — everything was in other people’s names,” Stone told The Hollywood Reporter.
Stone didn’t provide names or explain who allegedly took her savings and how they did it, but she confirmed she was completely broke at the time.
“I had zero money.”
TOPSHOT – US actress Sharon Stone poses on the red carpet prior the “Honorary Golden Bear” ceremony awarded to US director Martin Scorsese for lifetime achievement at the Berlinale, on February 20, 2024 in Berlin. (Photo by ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images)
The famous actress explained how she recovered from such a steep financial loss during a time of vulnerability.
“I decided to stay present and let go,” she said. “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. 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,” Stone told The Hollywood Reporter.
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Stone described what it was like for her to experience a brain bleed and all the subsequent medical treatments that were required. She confirmed that the experience changed the way her brain worked.
“A Buddhist monk told me that I had been reincarnated into my same body. I had a death experience and then they brought me back,” she said. “I bled into my brain for nine days, so my brain was shoved to the front of my face. It wasn’t positioned in my head where it was before.”
“And while that was happening, everything changed. My sense of smell, my sight, my touch. I couldn’t read for a couple of years.” (RELATED: ‘Lost All The Money’: Cher Admits To Losing Her Entire Fortune In The ’80s)
“Things were stretched and I was seeing color patterns. A lot of people thought I was going to die,” the famous actress said.
