Tragic Details About Sharon Stone

The following article contains references to sexual abuse, harassment, and death.

Sharon Stone is one of the icons of her generation. Whether she's sleuthing in "Total Recall," serial killing in "Basic Instinct," or, more recently, sizzling in "Fading Gigolo," Stone always lends her wry charm to the diverse roles she takes on. As is unfortunately the case with many women over a certain age, she's seen her career falter in the past couple of decades, and, for a time, she completely disappeared from Hollywood.

It was during this period that Stone would be confronted with some of her greatest tragedies that would see her branded as an outcast in the Hollywood industry she once effervescently embodied. But throughout it all, Stone has been a fighter, refusing to conform to the restrictive ideals of the biz. As she once told AARP, "I've survived everything — sexual harassment, miscarriages, a brain bleed, divorce, a lightning strike. I don't have time to fool around."

It seems that tragedy follows Stone around, and has done so since her formative years. As such, the multiple heartaches she has endured have bestowed upon her a unique insight into the industry as a whole. It should come as little surprise, then, that in recent years, Stone has rejected the trappings of Hollywood for her own physical and mental wellbeing. Speaking with Elle Spain, she revealed that her various personal struggles led to her ridding herself "of vain things and people and surround myself only with positivity." Get the tissues ready, for these are the tragic details about Sharon Stone.

Regarding her childhood, Sharon Stone bluntly told The New Yorker, "I was a social disaster, like I still am." The grim sentiment relates to the fact that, as a child, she faced multiple tragedies. Her uncle Gene was at the center of much of this devastation. When Stone was a young girl, Gene froze to death. As she recounted in her memoir, his body was found on the front steps of his cottage, where it was surrounded by copious amounts of blood due to a head injury he achieved from falling down.

Gene struggled with numerous psychological problems, and he once threatened to shoot himself in front of Stone when she was a child. Stone's mother had a flippant attitude towards Gene's suicidal ideation, and the actor admitted this belief rubbed off on her (something the Daily Mail criticized her for).

In addition to her trauma stemming from her relatives, Stone was severely injured on multiple occasions as a child. After a horse riding accident, she damaged her neck, per The New York Times. Another freak accident saw her get hit by lightning, resulting in injuries that lingered for a significant period of time. "I have a prolapsed valve. ... I had to keep going back and get EKGs for a couple of weeks, because I kept measuring this really erratic electricity in my body," she told The New Yorker regarding the bizarre incident.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

Per ABC News, Sharon Stone was embroiled in a bitter custody battle over her eldest son, Roan, in 2008, after ex-husband Phil Bronstein accused her of overreacting to their child's ailments. The outlet reported that Stone erroneously believed her son had a spinal cord condition and acted in an inappropriate manner with regards to his foot odor, wanting to get Botox injected into his feet to stop them from sweating.

Accordingly, a judge ruled that Stone was an unfit parent, and she subsequently lost custody of her son. Deeming Stone's actions to be reprehensible, the judge claimed the actor was "unable to provide the structure, continuity and reliability that Roan needs, and candidly, deserves." However, Stone said her ex fabricated the claims of unfit motherhood in order to take her child away. In an interview with Saga (via the Daily Mail), she said that she couldn't cope with the loss and would lay down and cry all day after being forced to say goodbye to her boy.

Speaking with The New Yorker regarding the devastating loss, Stone also blamed the media's hyper sexualization of her for losing custody of Roan. One day, Roan told his mom that she does "sex movies." As Stone pointed out, "It was already out before I got married. No one else made a decision to get married? No one else made a decision to have children?" Per The Hollywood Reporter, she has since regained custody of Roan.

Immediately after "Basic Instinct," Sharon Stone was propelled towards gargantuan stardom — even if it wasn't reflected in her bank balance. In fact, she had to contend with the paps almost everywhere, per The New Yorker. But as with so many actors of the '90s, Hollywood's interest waned as Stone aged. Eventually, she stopped getting substantial roles entirely. She suggested that the work dried up in her 40s because that's when women become their most beautiful and powerful: "So let's oppress women, because they might become more powerful than men."

In an interview with The New York Times, she discussed the inherent sexism of Hollywood's casting choices, whereby women, unlike their male counterparts, are reduced to their appearances and constantly demeaned unless they subscribe to an extremely parochial ideal. "I've let go of people telling me all the reasons why I cannot work," she said, noting she endured "40 years of too tall, too short, too fat, too thin, too blonde, too brown, too young, too old."

But it wasn't just Hollywood producers who stopped calling. Stone told The Sydney Morning Herald that she was also dropped by her agent, who claimed she was difficult to work with, which is arguably a sexist trope that has long been used against powerful women in the industry. Accordingly, Stone told the outlet she's repulsed by the exploitative nature of the industry. "You don't like her? She's difficult? You're sick of her? Great. Throw her in the trash," she declared.

In her memoir — an excerpt which was published by Vanity Fair — Sharon Stone revealed the extent of the sexism she faced in Hollywood. In one instance, a producer reportedly berated the star and told her she wasn't good enough for a movie role and refused to call her by her name. Shaken by the ordeal, Stone crashed her car after the meeting.

She also divulged her experiences with sexual harassment and assault. Discussing the arguable rape culture of Hollywood amid the myriad of abuse claims levied against producers and directors, she said, "This inaction is a true and real crime in itself." One of the most shocking manifestations of Stone's sexist mistreatment occurred on the set of "Basic Instinct." The actor alleged she was tricked into doing the infamous leg crossing scene, stating she was apparently told by director Paul Verhoeven that she had to remove her white underwear because it was causing a glare on the film. After watching the final cut, Stone discovered Verhoeven's claim was just a ruse to get her to expose her genitalia, though Verhoeven vehemently denies the allegation.

Stone's Hollywood violations extend beyond sexual harassment and assault. In an interview with The Sunday Times, she divulged that she underwent routine surgery only to wake up with breast implants. "He had changed my body without my knowledge or consent," she alleged, noting the plastic surgeon "thought that I would look better with bigger ... boobs."

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Sharon Stone was bestowed with the honor of becoming godmother to her nephew, River Stone, who was the son of the actor's younger brother, Patrick Stone, per People. But the infant's life was cut far too short. In 2021, Sharon faced even more tragedy when River suffered total organ failure. 

Sharing a photo of the intubated baby with her Instagram followers, Sharon asked for prayers, conceding that it would take a "miracle" to save him. Tragically, River did not make it, dying just days before his first birthday. "River William Stone Sept. 8, 2020 – Aug. 30, 2021," Sharon wrote in a tribute featuring a heartbreaking video montage dedicated to the baby. In the wake of the tragedy, Sharon's sister-in-law, Tasha Stone, made a harrowing Facebook post in which she detailed the pain of having to see her son suffer in the hospital.

Speaking with People following the infant's untimely death, Sharon emphasized the importance of organ donation. "The fact that my godson was able to save three lives, two infants and a 45-year-old man was sanctuary for our family," she said. "I can only say that you never, never know when a tragedy will happen in your life or in your family, but this opportunity to be an organ donor, it saved us, saved our family." According to a study published by Obama White House, there are over 120,000 Americans awaiting organ donation, and just one donor can save eight lives.

Sharon Stone is famed for her love of dogs, having adopted a number of pooches. Per People, in 2018 she welcomed pup Bandit, who joined Stone's older dog, Joe "Biggy" Stone, even if the elder canine was, by Stone's own admission, a tad jealous of the adorable upstart. But the dogs' time together would prove to be all too brief.

Joe was quite the pampered pooch; in 2018, Stone celebrated his birthday with an adorable doggy cake. But in 2022, the actor faced even more loss when Joe died. Sharing a snap of her cuddling the tragically departed furbaby on Instagram, Stone wrote, "We lost Joe, the brindle, two weeks ago, just ready to share," adding that her grief is "a process." The previous year, she had shared a photo of herself sunbathing with a somewhat frail-looking Joe, revealing that he was recently discharged from the vet, which suggests that her companion had been unwell for some time.

The late furbaby was beloved by many. Per Hello!, numerous celebs paid tribute to him, including A-lister Naomi Campbell. A couple of months after Joe died, a video surfaced of Stone paying tribute to her canine companions. Reading a poem by Margaret Bruner, Stone poignantly said, "Sometimes it seems as if a dog can sense one's thoughts more quickly than a human can. ... Very few of all the wise and learned of earth possess this strange, uncanny power to understand man's deepest moods of utter loneliness."