September 25, 2012
Sharon Stone Helps Raise More Than $1 Million for AIDS Research
Mark Thompson READ TIME: 1 MIN.
MILAN - Sharon Stone helped raise more than $1.1 million (�846,000) for AIDS research at a charity auction, hours after a brief trip to a hospital during Milan Fashion Week.
The 54-year-old Stone experienced migraine-related symptoms after the Fendi runway show Saturday night, was examined as a precaution and was given a clean bill of health, the amfAR Foundation for AIDS Research said in a statement Sunday.
The foundation denied earlier reports that she had fainted.
At the charity auction Saturday night, Stone was in fine form, cracking jokes as she enticed higher bids.
"Wild horses couldn't keep her away," the foundation said.
Designer Roberto Cavalli paid �35,000 ($45,500) for a new interpretation of the 1972 Bocca sofa shaped like lips after Stone reclined on the piece, demonstrating its comfort.
"You can kiss my a-- anytime," she joked with Cavalli, who was sitting at Stone's table.
A 2004 Damien Hirst etching of nine colored dots called "Quene 1-AM" netted �110,000 ($143,000) while a Robert Rauschenberg print "Site" earned �40,000 ($52,000).
The foundation said most of the money it raises is used for research toward finding a cure for AIDS.
A long-term New Yorker and a member of New York Travel Writers Association, Mark Thompson has also lived in San Francisco, Boston, Provincetown, D.C., Miami Beach and the south of France. The author of the novels WOLFCHILD and MY HAWAIIAN PENTHOUSE, he has a PhD in American Studies and is the recipient of fellowships at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center. His work has appeared in numerous publications.
