Sharon Stone Opens Up About Her Low Salary for “Basic Instinct”

Sharon Stone’s incredible performance in Basic Instinct turned the film into a classic and gave the actress an A-lister status. However, Stone recently revealed that she was paid a surprisingly low sum for the groundbreaking role. Moreover, she disclosed how much her co-star Michael Douglas had received, and explained why the difference between the 2 amounts was colossal.

She wasn’t the huge star then that she is today.

Sharon Stone revealed that she made $500,000 for portraying Catherine Tramell in the 1992 thriller.

The star, who opened up during an awards lunch event that was mostly attended by female film and TV execs, revealed, ’’Michael Douglas made $14 million.’’ She went on, explaining, ’’Now, I was new. I was new, and he was a very big star.’’

At the time, Stone was 32 and still paving her way in the industry.

She also noted that throughout the “entirety of the film,” a line producer kept forgetting her name and mistakenly calling her Karen. The now 65-year-old star shared that even during the after-Oscars ball, he continued to refer to her as Karen. She admitted, “I carried that humiliation really deep within me.”

Despite it all, she thrived in the role.

Basic Instinct went on to become a major box office hit and even got nominated for Best Film Editing and Best Original Score at the 1993 Academy Awards. Stone went on to win Best Female Performance and Most Desirable Female at the MTV Movie Awards for her powerful performance.

In a previous interview, the actress explained that to compensate for her low salary, she added a clause to her contract to keep her character’s entire wardrobe.

Given that what she was earning was considerably less than her co-star, she noted, “Keeping my costumes was a really smart thing to do.”

She’s choosing to look at the bright side.

Stone has recently brought up the subject of money once again, revealing that she has lost half of her fortune. Additionally, the star has faced a series of tragic events, including the recent heartbreaking loss of her brother Patrick and her nephew.

But despite it all, Stone is choosing to stay strong, adding a dash of humor to life whenever she can, including the way she recently celebrated her sixty-fifth birthday, which made us smile and admire the resilient woman all the more.