With numerous awards and a richly deserved place as one of Hollywood’s most successful female stars, one could forgive Sharon Stone for resting on her laurels.
But in a candid assessment of her colourful life, the 63-year old actress insists the personal triumphs have been matched by abject failure – with two unsuccessful marriages, a stroke and a battle with endometriosis to prove it.
Speaking to the May issue of ELLE Spain, Basic Instinct star Stone – who also poses for a provocative underwear free cover shoot reminiscent of risqué screen character Catherine Tramell – says she has learned to roll with the punches.
Opening: Sharon Stone discusses her colourful life with her usual candor in the May issue of ELLE Spain
She said: ‘I don’t care about failure: what is that? It is not a defeat, it is an apprenticeship.
‘I have failed inmost important aspects, with my health, in my marriages… but I have lived to tell the tale. I have picked up he pieces, I’ve got myself together and moved on.’
Those pieces include the memory she admits to almost losing after suffering a devastating stroke in 2001, from which the recovery prompted a setback in her acting career.
‘I had so much blood in the subarachnoid space that it literally pushed my brain into the front of my face,’ she recalled. ‘From the pressure, the right side of my face collapsed.’
She added: ‘Through enormous efforts of concentration I have been able to recover some memories, but not others. Anyway, seeing the happiness that I feel now, why am I going to try to reactivate yesterday?’
High profile: Stone went underwear free as she graced the cover of the upcoming issue
Old times: The cover shot conjures images of Stone’s iconic scene as murderous author Catherine Tramell in 1992 noir thriller Basic Instinct
The actress also discussed the agony of endometriosis, a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb starts to grow in other parts of the body.
She said: ‘Endometriosis is like your insides are being ripped out, like knives are being stabbed into you continuously inside.
‘The pains incapacitate you. If this disease were to be suffered by men, it would be investigated more.’
Purpose: The upcoming edition of the publication will place an emphasis on the female form
Stone stripped down as she graced the cover of the forthcoming Female Silhouette issue of ELLE Spain , which is set to hit newsstands in May.
The actress put on a leggy display for the publication as she posed in a steel chair while wearing a green coat and nothing underneath.
Stone’s magazine feature comes not long after her autobiography, entitled The Beauty Of Living Twice, was released to positive critical reception.
She contrasted her outer layer with a black leotard that was paired with a matching pair of high-heeled shoes.
Her gorgeous blonde hair stayed messy during the photoshoot and partially covered the left side of her face.
Serious support: Other figures who will be included in the upcoming issue include Ester Exposito and Priyanka Chopra, who was featured on an alternate cover
The upcoming issue of the publication will focus on the female body in all forms and feature an interview with Stone, where she will give an in-depth description of her 2001 stroke and subsequent recovery process.
Other actresses who are set to be featured in the forthcoming magazine include Priyanka Chopra and Ester Exposito, best known for her role in the Netflix series Elite.
Interviews from numerous other entertainment figures, including Lenny Kravitz and designer Carolina Herrera, will be included in the issue.
Stone’s feature in Elle Spain comes not long after the release of her tell-all book, entitled The Beauty Of Living Twice.
Getting it out there: Stone’s magazine feature comes not long after the March release of her tell-all book, entitled The Beauty Of Living Twice
In her autobiography, which was released at the end of last month, the Casino actress delved into her early life and was brutally honest about the trauma she endured as a child.
The performer also spoke in-depth about her humanitarian efforts and her experience of raising her three children.
During a recent interview for The New York Times, Stone noted that she had worked on the book during breaks in shooting on a set of projects.
‘I took two films in New York and every day off, I went to Knopf and I sat in an office and wrote. I’d take some food or order some food up and spend five, eight, 12, 15 hours and just write,’ she recalled.
Steady schedule: In an interview for The New York Times, stone recalled that while she was working on two film projects, ‘every day off, I went to Knopf and I sat in an office and wrote’
The Broken Flowers actress then remarked that her decision to speak about the sexual abuse she and her sibling endured at the hands of their grandfather was made by both of them.
She recalled, ‘My sister and I made this decision together. We spoke to my mother and at first she was very stoic and wrote me a letter about how disconcerting all this information was.
‘Then my sister got loaded when my mom was staying with her and really went for it with my mom. And my mom had a major breakthrough,’ she said.
Stone acknowledged that her book was being released in a social climate that she viewed as potentially apprehensive, which she was prepared to confront.
Heavy subject: The actress discussed the sexual abuse that she and her sister endured at the hands of their grandfather and noted that the two chose to get the word out
‘I’m going to go out in the most menacing, disruptive, psychologically aggressive period that our world has been in since the ’60s and be vulnerable and open. I understand that I’ll be met with a certain amount of that,’ she expressed.
‘I don’t want to gird my loins. I don’t want to be defensive. I want to prepare to be open and present. Because that’s the purpose of my journey,’ she added.
The actress finished the interview by noting that she wanted to not only look back at her past experiences but create an internal dialogue where she reflected on her actions with a more mature mindset.
She concluded, ‘I wanted to review my life and ask myself, why did you push yourself without listening to yourself? What part of your listening device got so fractured or broken that you didn’t see where you were headed?’
Looking back: Stone concluded her interview by noting that, during her writing process, she ‘wanted to review my life’; the actress is pictured in 2019