Sharon Stone in photos: a stormy personal life and career

The girl from Pennsylvania
Sharon Stone, a rising star in the 80s
Personal drama
'Bizarre satisfaction'
She built on the anger in her acting
Releasing the rage
Little steps in her early acting career
Small roles in the early 80s
King Solomon's Mines, 1985
1992: the year Sharon Stone became a star
The notorious scene
Success in the 90s
Sharon Stone and Russell Crowe in 'The Quick and the Dead'
Sharon Stone: a great experience with 'Casino'
Sharon Stone and Phil Bronstein
Sharon Stone's children
Serious health problems in 2001
She had a near-death experience
An unwanted operation
On her comeback after the stroke
At the 2002 Oscars with John Travolta
Comfortable with her status as a se* icon?
Disaster-proof vitalism
Sharon Stone, acclaimed in Mosaic
Brilliant in 'Ratched'
Controversy started in 2021
Naming names
A detailed recollection
Serenity gained over the years
The girl from Pennsylvania

This world-famous actress was born on March 10, 1958, in the small Pennsylvania town of Meadville. After combining her studies with beauty pageants, she decided to try her luck as a model in New York. And that's where the amazing success story of Sharon Stone began.

Sharon Stone, a rising star in the 80s

In 1977, Sharon Stone moved from Pennsylvania to her aunt's house in New Jersey. Closer to the world of fashion and showbiz, she would go on to become a star in Hollywood.

Personal drama

Behind the actress's brilliance lay profound personal tragedy, however. In her 2021 autobiography, 'The Beauty of Living Twice,' Sharon Stone recounts how as a child she was forced to watch her grandfather abuse her sister Kelly while she was paralyzed with fear and astonishment. All this with the complicity of her grandmother who locked them in the same room.

'Bizarre satisfaction'

When she was 14 years old, Sharon Stone's grandfather died. She says in her autobiography that it gave her a "bizarre satisfaction" to poke his body and make sure he was dead.

She built on the anger in her acting

Later, as the actress recalls in her autobiography, she would apply the rage she felt toward her grandparents to her acting.

Releasing the rage

It was especially helpful for the thriller 'Basic Instinct': "Letting myself process that rage was magnificent, and I think letting others feel that release was a bit therapeutic for the audience," she writes. "I know it's not just me."

Little steps in her early acting career

Before she got to that point, Sharon Stone had to make tiny steps in her acting career though. After Woody Allen spotted her acting talents, he cast her for a fleeting scene in "Stardust Memories" (1980, photo), but he did not credit her.

Small roles in the early 80s

A little later, Claude Lelouch selected Sharon Stone for an extra scene in the French film 'Les Uns et les Autres' (Bolero, 1981) that lasted only two minutes. All this goes to say that success did not immediately knock at her door.

King Solomon's Mines, 1985

Another role in Sharon Stone's early career was in the 1985 action movie 'King Solomon's Mines' with Richard Chamberlain.

1992: the year Sharon Stone became a star

It was in 1992 with the release of 'Basic Instinct' that Sharon Stone became the Hollywood star she still is today. The charisma she displayed on screen won over critics and audiences alike.

The notorious scene

The famous scene of Stone crossing her legs was not planned, though. Sharon Stone recalls in her autobiography - as she had done before - that she was "tricked" into doing this scene the way it ended up on the screen. She fought director Paul Verhoeven about it but did not sue him. "It didn't matter anymore. It was me and my parts up there."

Success in the 90s

In the 1990s, Sharon Stone achieved her definite glory. We saw her in numerous leading roles, such as 'Intersection' (1994) and 'Last Dance' (1996).

Sharon Stone and Russell Crowe in 'The Quick and the Dead'

While some movies didn't work out very well - remember 'Sliver'? - others had considerable success. An example was her tough part in the western 'The Quick and the Dead' (1995).

Sharon Stone: a great experience with 'Casino'

Another success was 'Casino,' directed by Martin Scorsese and with co-stars Robert DeNiro and Joe Peski, in 1995. Sharon Stone was nominated for an Oscar for this movie. In her autobiography, she says that Robert De Niro "taught me more by the example of his incredible work ethic than any other actor." In addition, she calls Martin Scorsese "the greatest director of my life."

Sharon Stone and Phil Bronstein

On a personal level, Sharon Stone has had two marriages and several steady relationships. The men who have most marked her life are television producer Michael Greenburg, whom she married in 1984 and separated three years later, and 'San Francisco Examiner' editor Phil Bronstein, whom she married in 1998 and divorced in 2004.

Sharon Stone's children

With Phil Bronstein, Sharon Stone adopted a son in 2000: Roan Joseph Bronstein (photo). After their separation, Sharon Stone had two more adopted children: Laird Vonne (2005) and Quinn Kelly Stone (2006).

Serious health problems in 2001

The year 2001 was one of the most difficult in Sharon Stone's life. First, she had benign tumors removed from her breasts. Then, she suffered a stroke and nearly died.

She had a near-death experience

About the stroke, the actress recalls that she suffered intense headaches and went to the doctor to have it checked out. Diagnosed with a brain haemorrhage, caused by an aneurysm, Stone had to get immediate medical care. She would later tell 'Paris Match' that she saw "the white light on the other side" in a near-death experience. She also saw her deceased father.

An unwanted operation

The treatment for her tumors, in that same year, had been a mixed experience, the actress reveals in her autobiography. "I left there bandaged, and when unbandaged, discovered that I had a full cup-size bigger bre@sts." Her surgeon would tell the actress that they "go better with your hip size - I'm certain you look better now."

"He changed my body"

In her autobiography, two decades later, Sharon Stone denounces this unwanted plastic surgery. "He, in all of his self-determined knowledge, had changed my body without my knowledge or consent."

On her comeback after the stroke

In March 2002, Sharon Stone was asked to present a section of the Oscar ceremony. She reveals in her autobiography that she was still having problems seeing, hearing, and speaking, and she had only recently started walking again. Pictured here with her husband Phil on the red carpet, she didn't want people to notice.

At the 2002 Oscars with John Travolta

"I floated down that stage and looked into the faces of all of my talented, amazing fellow Academy members," she writes about her entrance on the stage with John Travolta. "They were smiling, laughing, and digging the moment. All of us uplifted. They didn't need to know why."

Comfortable with her status as a se* icon?

For a time, Sharon Stone was typecast as a hyperse*ualized woman. In 2014, she told Oprah Winfrey that it's not a big deal to her: "I'm 56 years old and a certain audience still likes me. It's fine."

"To be attractive is to like yourself"

Sharon Stone gave Harper's Bazaar magazine the exact definition of what she considers to be a beauty icon: "Being attractive is liking yourself enough to be liked by whoever wants to be with you".

Disaster-proof vitalism

Despite life's adversities, Sharon Stone presents herself as a woman of vitality and optimism. She is often seen sponsoring social and solidarity causes. For several years, the actress has supported charitable foundations such as the AIDS Research Foundation, Lupus LA, the Dalai Lama Foundation and Habitat for Humanity.

Sharon Stone, acclaimed in Mosaic

Before having to pause filming due to COVID-19, Sharon Stone signed some interesting roles in movies and television. She played in 'The Disaster Artist' in 2017 and in the series 'Mosaic' two years later. For the latter performance, she got very good reviews and the support of the public.

Brilliant in 'Ratched'

In 2020, Stone signed a small (but interesting) role in 'Ratched', the Netflix series starring Sarah Paulson. It focuses on the character of nurse Mildred Ratched from the film 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' and features a serene and calm Sharon Stone as a millionaire widow with hilarious tendencies and a pet monkey.

Controversy started in 2021

In March 2024, Sharon Stone returned to the spotlight with a controversial subject. The diva decided to name the people involved in a past episode in which she was pressured by a director to sleep with an actor in order to improve his performance in a movie. The story was told in her biography from 2021.

Photo: Prime Video

Naming names

It was during an appearance on Louis Theroux's podcast that she revealed that the producer in question was Robert Evans, the actor William Baldwin, and the film was the 1993 hit 'Invasion of Privacy'.

A detailed recollection

In her speech, she gave details: "Evans [is] running around his office in sunglasses explaining that he slept with Ava Gardner and I should sleep with Billy Baldwin, because [then] his performance would get better... If I could sleep with Billy, then we'd have chemistry on screen and save the movie."

Serenity gained over the years

Sharon Stone is a living Hollywood legend who, in her mid-60s, continues to reap both personal and professional success. "I'm more comfortable in my job than I've ever been," she said in an interview with El País. "I don't feel the same stress, nerves or anxiety as when I used to go to work."

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