Sharon Stone has opened up about the financial strains she suffered after her 2001 stroke.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Tuesday, the "Basic Instinct" actor, 66, shared that in the months and years that ensued, people began taking "advantage" of her, ultimately leading to the loss of millions of dollars she had saved up in her bank account, as well as other personal items.
"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 shared. "I had zero money."
The stroke, which led to a nine-day brain bleed, ultimately made Stone step away from Hollywood. Reflecting on the ordeal, Stone said it changed the way she thinks.
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"A Buddhist monk told me that I had been reincarnated into my same body," Stone recalled. "I had a death experience and then they brought me back. 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," she explained. "My sense of smell, my sight, my touch. I couldn't read for a couple of years. Things were stretched, and I was seeing color patterns. A lot of people thought I was going to die."
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She could have easily held on to feeling "bitter" by the experience but Stone said she focuses on the positives.
"I decided to stay present and let go," she admitted. "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."
Sharon added, "So, I live for joy now. I live for purpose."