Editing Sharon Stone (section)

===Breakthrough and ''Basic Instinct'' (1990–1992)===
[[File:SharonStone91.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Stone at the [[Deauville American Film Festival]] in 1991]]
In [[Paul Verhoeven]]'s ''[[Total Recall (1990 film)|Total Recall]]'' (1990), a science fiction action film opposite [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]], Stone played the seemingly loving wife of a construction worker. The film received favorable reviews and made $261.2&nbsp;million worldwide, giving Stone's career a major boost,<ref name=tca/> leading to her being cast in five feature films released throughout 1991. She played what [[Roger Ebert]] described as the "bad girl" in the romantic comedy ''[[He Said, She Said (film)|He Said, She Said]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/he-said-she-said-1991|title=He Said, She Said movie review (1991) &#124; Roger Ebert|first=Roger|last=Ebert|website=Rogerebert.com/|access-date=February 9, 2022|archive-date=January 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126033616/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/he-said-she-said-1991|url-status=live}}</ref> a sexually repressed woman in the psychological thriller ''[[Scissors (film)|Scissors]]'', a wealthy blonde in the crime drama ''[[Diary of a Hitman]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105809/releaseinfo|title=Where Sleeping Dogs Lie (1991)|access-date=October 11, 2017|website=IMDb|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323014937/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105809/releaseinfo|archive-date=March 23, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> a provocative young photojournalist in the thriller ''[[Year of the Gun (film)|Year of the Gun]]'' and the agent and former lover of a writer in the neo-noir ''[[Where Sleeping Dogs Lie]]''.

In another Verhoeven film, the erotic thriller ''[[Basic Instinct]]'' (1992),<ref name=tca/> she took on the role that made her a star, playing [[Catherine Tramell]], a brilliant [[bisexuality|bisexual]] novelist and alleged [[serial killer]]. Several actresses at the time turned down the role, mostly because of the [[nudity in film|nudity]] required.<ref>{{cite news|last=Weinraub|first=Bernard|title=Basic Instinct': The Suspect Is Attractive, and May Be Fatal|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/15/movies/film-basic-instinct-the-suspect-is-attractive-and-may-be-fatal.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=May 10, 2014|work=The New York Times|date=March 15, 1992|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429001640/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/15/movies/film-basic-instinct-the-suspect-is-attractive-and-may-be-fatal.html?pagewanted=all|archive-date=April 29, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> 
Critical response towards ''Basic Instinct'' was mixed, but Stone received critical acclaim for her "star-making performance";<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/basic_instinct/|title=Basic Instinct|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=October 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830115706/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/basic_instinct|archive-date=August 30, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Peter Travers]] of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' remarked that "Verhoeven's cinematic wet dream delivers the goods, especially when Sharon Stone struts on with enough come-on carnality to singe the screen," and observed of the actress' portrayal: "Stone, a former model, is a knockout; she even got a rise out of Ah-nold in Verhoeven's ''Total Recall''. But being the bright spot in too many dull movies (''He Said, She Said''; ''Irreconcilable Differences'') stalled her career. Though ''Basic Instinct'' establishes Stone as a [[bombshell (slang)|bombshell]] for the 1990s, it also shows she can nail a laugh or shade an emotion with equal aplomb."<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Travers, Peter|title=Review: ''Basic Instinct''|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/basic-instinct-19920320|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=March 10, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628215638/http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/basic-instinct-19920320|archive-date=June 28, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Australian critic Shannon J. Harvey of ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' called the film "one of the best films of the early [[1990s in film|1990s]], doing more for female empowerment than any feminist rally. Stone – in her star-making performance – is as hot and sexy as she is ice-pick cold."<ref name="RottenTomatoes">{{cite book|title=Basic Instinct|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/basic_instinct/reviews|publisher=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=February 12, 2023|archive-date=February 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213002918/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/basic_instinct/reviews|url-status=live}}</ref> For the part, Stone earned a [[Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Award]] nomination for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama|Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama]], four [[MTV Movie & TV Awards|MTV Movie Awards]] nominations, and a [[Golden Raspberry Awards|Golden Raspberry Award]] nomination for [[Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star|Worst New Star]] for her "tribute to [[Beaver Cleaver|Theodore Cleaver]]". The film also became one of the most financially successful productions of the 1990s, grossing US$352.9&nbsp;million worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=basicinstinct.htm|title=Basic Instinct (1992)website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=October 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321233141/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=basicinstinct.htm|archive-date=March 21, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>