The actress recalls her harrowing experience with a nine-day brain bleed in 2001

Sharon Stone has disclosed that doctors initially thought she was “faking” a serious medical condition that turned out to be a brain haemorrhage resulting from a ruptured vertebral artery. The “Basic Instinct” star, now 65, suffered a stroke in 2001 that led to a life-threatening nine-day brain bleed.

Reflecting on the incident, Stone recounted waking up in a Los Angeles emergency room in severe pain. Speaking to Vogue, she described the shocking moment when she realised she was being taken for brain surgery without her knowledge or consent. “A doctor had decided… to give me exploratory brain surgery,” Stone revealed.

She highlighted the gender bias she faced, explaining that “in a medical setting, women often just aren’t heard, particularly when you don’t have a female doctor.” Initially, the medical team dismissed her symptoms, but a second angiogram—conducted at her best friend’s insistence—revealed extensive bleeding into her brain and a ruptured vertebral artery. Stone asserted she would not have survived if she had been sent home.

The actress described the physical toll of the haemorrhage, including facial paralysis, severe dragging of her left foot, and stuttering. “I bled so much into my subarachnoid pool… that the right side of my face fell,” she said. For years, Stone also endured painful, knot-like swellings on her head.

Initially concealing her condition due to fear of public rejection, Stone admitted, “I hid my disability and was afraid to go out… I just thought no-one would accept me.”

Now an advocate for brain health, Stone serves on the board of the Barrow Neurological Foundation in the U.S., which focuses on treating complex brain and spine conditions. She is involved in fundraising efforts, including Neuro Night, a charity event on October 27 dedicated to supporting the foundation’s work.