Sharon Stone became emotional recounting the final moments of her mother Dorothy's life and the complex grieving process that followed. In a recent interview on the "All There Is with Anderson Cooper" podcast, Stone, 68, described her mother's death in March 2025 at the age of 91.
Stone revealed that her mother harbored a deep fear of dying, specifically a fear of her abusive parents being present in her final moments. To ease this anxiety, Stone admitted she lied to her mother, fabricating stories about her parents' whereabouts to assure her they would not be there. "I had to lie to her and tell her that her father was in jail and her mother was in a mental hospital, and they weren’t going to be there," Stone shared.
She further explained that her mother, who had a difficult childhood marked by abuse and being removed from her home at nine years old, continued to "really fight" to survive. Stone came to the difficult conclusion that her own presence might be prolonging her mother's distress. "I finally realized, I have to let go. I need to stop walking in the room. I need to go upstairs and ignore my mother so she will die," Stone recounted. She added that she needed to "detach and release" and that her mother's passing depended on her letting go.
Stone expressed a lingering desire for her mother to offer validation, stating, "I wanted her to say, 'I’m proud of you. I love you. I’m sorry. You’re important to me,' and I wasn’t going to get them.” However, she ultimately made peace with the fact that these affirmations would not come, recognizing that releasing her mother was necessary for Dorothy to die in peace. Stone reflected that sometimes those closest to individuals bear the brunt of their harshness because they feel safest to express it.
Following Dorothy's death, Stone stated she felt "free from my mom, free from her trauma." The actress has previously spoken about her mother's traumatic childhood, detailing in her 2021 memoir, "The Beauty Of Living Twice," that her maternal grandfather was an abusive and violent man who had physically abused Dorothy from the age of five until she left home at nine. Stone also disclosed that he had abused her and her sister when they were young girls.
Despite the difficult relationship with her mother, Stone recalled a loving bond between her parents, Dorothy and Joe. Joe Stone, a factory worker who became a tool and die manufacturer, was a significant influence, teaching her to assert herself in a male-dominated world. "My Dad and I were tighter than two coats of paint," she said.
Stone announced her mother's death in July 2025, four months after she passed. She shared a photo of herself with her mother, captioning it, "My hilarious, complex mother died." She also made a veiled reference to the political climate, noting her mother was "a product of the last depression," and urged her followers to "Let’s NOT do this again. Let’s protect and care."
Condolences were shared by fellow celebrities, including Holland Taylor and Uzo Aduba. Gwyneth Paltrow offered a broken heart emoji. In May, Stone posted a photo of her parents, referring to them as "The beautiful couple. On angels’ wings." In November 2021, she had asked for prayers after her mother suffered an acute stroke.
An obituary noted that Dorothy Stone passed away peacefully with family and friends by her side. She married Joseph Stone in 1950, and they had four children. Together, they established a tool and die business called Aggressive Forge, with Dorothy managing the bookkeeping. The family has a history of strokes, with Stone's grandmother, her mother, and Stone herself having experienced them, leading Stone to become an advocate for brain-aging diseases affecting women.