Actor says it took seven years to recover from illness that first struck in 2001, during which time the actor says she was treated with ‘brutal unkindness’ by Hollywood

Sharon Stone has accused Hollywood of being “brutally unkind” in its treatment of her as she struggled to recover from a stroke in 2001.

Stone made the comments to Variety magazine at an event to raise awareness for the Women’s Brain Health Initiative in Los Angeles, after explaining she had had a “massive stroke … a nine-day brain bleed”.

“People treated me in a way that was brutally unkind … From other women in my own business to the female judge who handled my custody case, I don’t think anyone grasps how dangerous a stroke is for women and what it takes to recover – it took me about seven years.”

At the time of her illness, Stone was in the process of divorcing her husband, journalist Phil Bronstein, as well as attempting to maintain a high-profile screen acting career. She added: “[From] trying to keep custody of my son to just functioning – to be able to work at all … I had to remortgage my house. I lost everything I had. I lost my place in the business. I was like the hottest movie star, you know?”

Stone had shot to fame a decade earlier after playing the female lead in erotic suspense thriller Basic Instinct, and later received considerable acclaim and a best actress Oscar nomination for Martin Scorsese’s 1995 picture Casino. However in 1999 was nominated for a Golden Raspberry award for the remake of the John Cassavetes thriller Gloria.

Stone said she had been “rescued” by being given a contract by Dior in 2005, but that she felt her experience was similar to Princess Diana’s. “[She] and I were so famous – and she died and I had a stroke. And we were forgotten.”

Stone’s recently appeared in Steven Soderbergh’s HBO murder-mystery series Mosaic and has been cast in an unspecified role in the upcoming Netflix series Ratched, a spinoff/prequel to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.