Sharon Stone has described how people “took advantage” of her financially while she was recovering from a near-fatal stroke.

The Basic Instinct star suffered a stroke in 2001 that led to a nine-day brain bleed, which forced her to step away from Hollywood for seven years while she recovered.

“People took advantage of me over that time,” the US actress told The Hollywood Reporter.

“I had $18m (£14m) saved because of all my success, but when I got back into my bank account, it was…