When Sharon Stone, then 37 years young, got ready for the 1996 Golden Globe Awards, she was nervous. It was her first nomination after all, and the first time she had attended a major award show as a nominee. As she put on the black and white Vera Wang gown, she decided simply to enjoy herself. Given the other four nominees in her category, there was no chance in hell she could possibly win. What happened next goes down as one of the best moments in Golden Globe history as well as in Stone’s career. On the occasion of her 65^th birthday, we flash back to that memorable night.

At the end of 1995, something shifted for Sharon Stone. Known as a sexpot, a bombshell, the sexiest woman alive and every other clichéd term the film industry and the media like to label actresses as after 1992’s Basic Instinct, the movie that catapulted her into world fame, she had just done a film with Martin Scorsese. Casino had buzz before the first take was shot. It was the master at work, after all. Plus, his usual cast of A-list character actors who also happened to be stars: Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, James Woods. The director gave the female lead to Sharon Stone, a choice that raised eyebrows in high and mighty reviewer’ circles and most probably among other actresses who also coveted a role in a Scorsese movie. But when the film came out in December of 1995, the reviews for Stone were as good as for the film itself. After having been a fan favorite for six years, she became a critics’ darling.
Highly intelligent as she had always been, she changed her demeanor, her interviews and her presentation. Gone were the smartass remarks, the Monroe-blonde locks and the revealing dresses. She found a modest and endearing way to step back during the press tour, never hogging the limelight and always giving credit to her director and her co-stars. She discovered designer pantsuits, and yes, that was her choice, not some stylist’s – Stone always knew what she wanted, and that included her looks. Her transformation should be the first chapter of a handbook for all actresses who want to mount a successful awards campaign as a serious thespian after being known more for their sex appeal than for their talent. When Stone got the Golden Globe nomination, everyone in Hollywood paid attention.
Single at the time, she chose as her date the then head of international publicity at Universal Pictures, Nadia Bronson. One of the smartest women who ever lived and worked in Hollywood, Bronson was not just a great friend to young foreign journalists whose careers she furthered when no one else at any other studio would give them the time of day, she also had a knack for spotting talent which went all the way back to a young Steven Spielberg, whose award campaigns she designed masterfully.
Sharon Stone, in her modestly cut dress, with minimal makeup and her hair in a simple bob with one side tucked behind her ear – more reminiscent of Grace Kelly than of Marilyn Monroe – was up against four acting powerhouses, every one of them nominated for a film that had at least as much buzz as Casino. The nominees for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama were Susan Sarandon for Dead Man Walking, Meryl Streep for The Bridges of Madison County, Emma Thompson for Sense and Sensibility and Elisabeth Shue for Leaving Las Vegas. Most so-called award watchers had Sarandon tied with Streep for the win, followed by Thompson and Shue. Stone was the odd choice out.
Watching the show now, the presentation by Tom Hanks feels rushed (the category comes late in the evening, and we were probably running overtime). He rattled off the names, opened the envelope while still talking and without a pause named – Sharon Stone. The camera panned to the Casino table with the visibly shaken winner trying to pull herself together. She regained some composure once she got onstage, but summed up the reaction in the room:
“No one is more surprised than me…well, it’s just…it’s it’s…. okay it’s a miracle!”, she stammered, laughing, before getting back to her usual eloquent self: “I am so proud to be part of a business where a product is still handmade and I’m so proud to work with people of a quality and caliber of this group that made Casino, a five-month long project that we all put our heart and soul and blood and sweat into. Thank you to the HFPA for the support tonight and for the 19 years I’d been waiting for this moment…” she then pointed to the card in her hand: “My name is on here!” she exclaimed, as if to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.
She thanked her manager for supporting her “when it wasn’t fashionable”, and her director “Marty Scorsese for touching me with his incredible genius and making room for the breadth and annoying moments of my uncontrollable passion for this part. Robert De Niro for simply being the best partner a girl could ever have. I just love you so much for the support and generosity you gave me… Jimmy Woods, I’d like to thank ALL of your personalities – I love so many of them. Joe Pesci for being my sponsor. And my parents, especially my father for giving me the courage to stick with my dreams.” She was “stunned and overwhelmed”, and the first sentiment was true even for those of us who had voted for her.
She spent the rest of the night party-hopping and getting used to the idea that this night had changed her career forever. She went on to work with Barry Levinson, Albert Brooks, Jim Jarmusch, Nick Cassavetes, Sidney Lumet and Steven Soderbergh among others. Sunday, January 21, 1996 had changed the trajectory of her career and her perception in the eyes of everyone in the industry.