Emmy-Winning Star Was Left Broke After 2001 Stroke

Sharon Stone has built a one-of-a-kind career in Hollywood over the past four decades, earning accolades at the Emmys and Golden Globes and starring in hit movies like Total Recall and Basic Instinct. At the turn of the century, however, Stone's life was put on pause after she suffered a horrific stroke in 2001. 

Beyond the health implications, the stroke also had a devastating financial effect on Stone. It wasn't because she was paying medical bills, however. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she detailed how she had nearly $20 million in savings wiped out by other people. 

"People took advantage of me over that time," she said of her seven-year recovery from the stroke. "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."

"I had zero money," she reiterated. Rather than let her fury fester, however, she learned she had to move on. 

"I decided to stay present and let go. I decided not to hang onto being sick or to any bitterness or anger," she said. "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 opened up about her many problems at the time to Variety back in 2019. She credited LVMH founder and CEO Bernard Arnault for throwing her a bone with a Dior contract. 

"I had to remortgage my house. I lost everything I had. I lost my place in the business. I was like the hottest movie star, you know?" she reflected. "It was like Miss Princess Diana and I were so famous—and she died and I had a stroke. And we were forgotten."