Sharon Stone isn't afraid of aging. In fact, the 61-year-old is feeling better than ever.
In a new interview with Allure, the actress reveals that she likes her body much more now than when she was younger.
"I'm so grateful to my body. When I was younger, everybody was telling me what was wrong with my body — too this, too that," the November cover girl said.
Case in point? Stone's experience on the film "Basic Instinct," one of her most iconic roles.
"When I got on 'Basic Instinct,' they hired a makeup artist that put on pounds of makeup every day, and every day I went to my trailer and took the makeup off," she said.
These days, the mother of three is most focused on appreciating what her body does for her, rather than shaming it for any perceived imperfections.
"I started to understand that I was going to go for being more like a European woman who got more beautiful with age and who could understand that women are more beautiful than girls because they know something," Stone said.
After experiencing a stroke in 2001, Stone spent her 40s focusing on self care, and says the decade was her favorite one so far.
"My 40s were so beautiful. I couldn't work because women, once they got to be 40, were not given jobs in Hollywood. I was a mom with three beautiful little boys. I was recovering from a massive brain injury, and I was in custody court constantly over my oldest child," she said. "But there was something wonderful in that period of all those challenges. And even though no one wanted to date me — no one would want a woman that had little children — it was a period of reconciliation and change, and understanding myself. It was my period of the biggest change, but the period where I thought I was the most beautiful."
Over the years, the actress has had plenty of time to reflect on what beauty means to her, and has realized that people don't always respond to attractive women in the nicest way.
"People are incredibly unkind. They think if you're beautiful, you must be stupid, you must be shallow. If you're beautiful, we should make you feel small or less. Every person has gifts. And if beauty is one of them, we should accept it and enjoy it as a gift from nature... If someone's beautiful, for God’s sake, let them be beautiful," she said.
Still, at 61 years old, Stone's still got plenty of sex appeal, and she isn't afraid to show it off. Last May, the actress re-created a provocative shot from the beginning of "Basic Instinct" in a racy photo shoot. When asked if she thinks the film could have been made in 2019, Stone told Allure she wasn't so sure.
"I think 'Basic Instinct' was made at the exact right moment in history because it captured all our fears and doubts and the moment of change of power for women. It's still an intriguing film, but could it be made now? I doubt that it would have any form of the sensationalism it had at the time. When I began my career, there were only two ways we were allowed to sit: cross at the ankles or ankles under the chair," she said.
Now that she's mastered the art of self-confidence, Stone says she's all about honesty: "I think when I was young, it was my ambition. It was so intense. Taking off the tough veneer and telling the truth has been my latest mission."
Allure's "End of Anti-Aging" issue hits national newsstands on Oct. 29.