Sharon Stone revealed that her 1992 breakout film Basic Instinct made her $13.5 million less than Michael Douglas.
“Michael Douglas made $14 million. Now I was new. I was new and he was a very big star,” she revealed at New York Women In Film & Television’s 43rd Annual Muse Awards Luncheon.
Stone – who claims to have lost half her money in a banking scandal – only made $500,000 from the film.
“We should think a lot more about what women can do,” Stone told the packed ballroom.
Speaking of her early career, she said, “When I went to the set, there would be 300 men, and my hair, makeup and dressers were men when I was shooting sex scenes. It was all men and me. And sometimes I might ask the cloakroom attendant, who might be a woman, if she doesn’t mind staying on set while I do it.”
Underpaid: Sharon Stone revealed that she made $13.5 million less than Michael Douglas for her 1992 breakout film Basic Instinct
Not yet a star: “Michael Douglas has earned $ 14 million. Now I was new. I was new and he was a very big star,” she revealed at New York Women In Film & Television’s 43rd Annual Muse Awards Luncheon
“Well things have changed and there are women in film now and I’m really grateful,” she added.
At the same event, the Sliver star opened up about the tragic death of her brother Patrick, 57, just two years after the death of their little nephew River.
Speaking to DailyMail at the event, she said: “It’s a lot, the impact is just devastating.”
Discussing her grieving process, the actress admitted she’s still struggling to come to terms with the heartbreaking losses, saying, “I’m just trying to take each day as it comes. I just have to try to understand.”
The actress noted that she “did a lot of death work” in her role as AIDS Ambassador, but confided that the impact of the loss of her brother and nephew was still unbearable.
“Because I’ve worked with AIDS for so long, I’ve worked with death a lot, but the effects are just devastating,” she shared. “I’m just trying to take each day as it comes.”
Sharon sent shockwaves around the world when she took to Instagram to announce the death of her younger brother Patrick in February.
“Hi everyone, this is to confirm that we lost my brother Patrick Joseph Stone to a heart attack yesterday,” the heartbroken star shared in a short video.
More women: She also reflected on the fact that there are many more women on the film crew today than there were in the early days of her career
Earlier this month, the Total Recall actress joked that she lost “half her money” to the banking crisis while soliciting donations at a cancer charity gala in Beverly Hills.
“I know it’s difficult to navigate and figure out how to text the money. I’m a technical idiot, but I can write a damn check.’
“And at the moment that’s also courage, because I know what’s going to happen. I just lost half my money on this bank thing and that doesn’t mean I’m not here,” she said, laughing.
Stone spoke at the Unforgettable Evening Gala raising money for the Women’s Cancer Research Fund.
Grief: The casino star also opened up about her grieving process over the deaths of her brother and nephew
The Oscar nominee was honored for her tireless fundraising efforts. Soliciting donations from the well-heeled crowd, she joked that there were no excuses not to donate.
Stone fought back tears as she said her friends’ lives were worth more than some of the superfluous ways that Beverly Hills crowds often squandered money.
The swanky event at the Four Seasons Hotel was hosted by Maroon 5 and attracted an audience including public figures, actors and reality TV stars.
Stone also spoke of her own health scares; Doctors recently found a benign tumor larger than one of her breasts. She was told it must be cancer, but it wasn’t.
“These mammograms are no fun. And for someone like me who was told I had breast cancer because I had a tumor bigger than my breast and they were sure there was no way I could have a tumor without it being cancer, it was not.
“But I went to the hospital and said, ‘If you open me up and it’s cancer, please take both breasts,’ because I’m not a person defined by my breasts.
‘You know, that might be weird of me since you’ve all seen them.’
Gala circuit: Stone spoke of her own health scares; Doctors recently found a benign tumor larger than one of her breasts. She was told it must be cancer, but it wasn’t