LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Sharon Stone claims that after having a stroke and nearly fatal brain bleed in 2001, Hollywood dropped her from future projects. At the time, she was given a "one percent chance" of surviving due to the "nine-day brain bleed," according to her doctors.
Despite beating the odds, the actress alleges that she had difficulty finding employment for 20 years following her recovery. Stone said while hosting THR's Raising Our Voices luncheon, "I recovered for seven years, and I haven't had jobs since. When it first happened, I didn't want to tell anybody because you know if something goes wrong with you, you're out. Something went wrong with me — I've been out for 20 years. I haven't had jobs. I was a very big movie star at one point in my life." Stone, 65, continued by recalling instances in her career where she had to speak for herself.
'I want to tell you that it hurt. It hurt to fight the studio heads'
Stone said, "I broke a lot of glass ceilings," but also confirmed that doing so had a negative impact on her career. She preached, "I want to tell you that it hurt. It hurt to get paid. It hurt to fight the studio heads. It hurt to make boundaries — 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," as reported by Daily Mail.
Stone added,"It hurt to...[have] 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."
With diversity being one of the central themes of the event, Stone spoke about the importance of "self advocacy." Stone further added, "Diversity can mean more than one thing. Diversity can be an injury, diversity can be the color of your skin, diversity can mean standing up for yourself. If you are diverse, you must demand a position in this business.The mother-of-three has been her own advocate at times, which according to the acress "has caused me a lot of problems in the business."
Stone urged individuals to seek their position in the business and fight for space. This was after she described her work with the World Health Organization and the United Nations to elevate marginalized voices. "It is important to me that your diversity does not get wiped out by this anti-woke bulls**t idea in our country," she said.
Sharon Stone's near-brush with death
In 2001, everything turned upside down for the actor. Stone suffered a brain hemorrhage, which led to a stroke. She revealed that it took three days before she got to the hospital, and she was forced to relearn how to walk, talk and write. And she is still on medicine to control seizures, as reported bySpectrumnews.
Sharon Stone earned Oscar nomination for 'Best Actress'
She was the leading lady in movies like 'Total Recall' (1990), 'Basic Instinct' (1992), 'The Quick And The Dead' (1995), and 'Casino' (1995), which earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. She also took on riskier roles like 'Sphere' (1998), and the acclaimed HBO series 'Mosaic', among many others. Stone rose to fame in Hollywood after having a successful modeling career. She has three children, Roan, 23, Laird, 18, and Quinn, 16, whom she adopted after experiencing several miscarriages as a result of endometriosis and an inflammatory condition.
