Sharon Stone was born in Pennsylvania, USA, into a modest family of Irish descent. With an IQ of 154, she entered second grade when she was just five.
At the age of 17, Sharon Stone entered a beauty pageant, and was a candidate for Miss Pennsylvania. One of the judges advised her to give up her career and go to New York to work in advertising. Two years later, after settling in New Jersey, she was hired by the prestigious Ford Agency and began her career as a model. But life had a twist in store for her, and she made her debut on the big screen soon after, thanks to a brief role in Woody Allen’s Stardust Memories.
Despite this opportunity, she spent more than a decade playing minor roles before her career finally took off with her performance in the film Total Recall, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Basic Instinct
Her international success and projection to stardom came with her role in the film Basic Instinct, in which she played the enigmatic novelist Catherine Tramell. This role made her a Hollywood star, in a career ascent that culminated in an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Casino.
Sharon Stone has always been associated with the Hollywood industry, and her popularity has never waned, even when she lowered her caché after the peak of her career and took parts in smaller films such as If These Walls Could Talk 2.
The sequel, Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction, and her role as the villainess in Catwoman saw her relaunch her career and star in films that were both critically and commercially successful, such as Bobby. In recent years, the actress has also appeared on the small screen in series such as Ratched and The New Pope.
Beauty and talent
Perhaps it was her innate intelligence that helped Sharon Stone keep control of her career and not succumb to its ups and downs, unlike other Hollywood actors and actresses. Although it has not been a linear trajectory, it has been a steady one, and she has always enjoyed the acclaim of audiences who, beyond her beauty, have been able to appreciate her talent.
Despite being considered at one stage the ultimate American sex symbol, her private life was never the subject of scandal. In 1984, Sharon married producer Michael Greenburg, from whom she separated two years later. In 1998, she married Phil Bronstein, with whom she adopted her son Roan Joseph. The marriage lasted only three years, but ended amicably, with shared custody of the child. Sharon adopted her other two sons, Laird Vonne and Quinn Kelly, on her own.
In 2001, the actress overcame a brain haemorrhage that ultimately left her with no permanent damage. But the experience changed her life. She has a ranch in New Zealand, where she spends long periods away from the Hollywood glitz and glam, and in converting to Tibetan Buddhism, she has found the peace she was seeking away from the big screen.
In recent years, Sharon Stone has taken part in numerous activities in favour of world peace, using her image to support initiatives such as AIDS research, building schools in Africa and caring for the homeless, among other causes.
Sharon Stone recently presented an exhibition of her news paintings – Colorful Abstractions that reflect her inner world “Welcome to my Garden” at Allouche Gallery (Los Angeles), demonstrating once again her great artistic skills and her multifaceted ability to stand out in new projects.
Those who know her say that Sharon Stone is beautiful on the outside, but even more beautiful on the inside, and that she has always understood that she is a person over and above being an actress. A philosophy that allows her to walk any red carpet with confidence.
