Sharon Stone poses for a photograph.

Hollywood actress Sharon Stone broke down in tears during a heartfelt speech at a charity fundraiser as she told the audience she lost "half her money to this banking thing."

The 65-year-old Hollywood actress gave an emotional speech at the Women's Cancer Research Fund's 'An Unforgettable Evening' event in Beverly Hills, California in which she urged audience members to pledge their cash to the good cause - and admitted she was still determined to help despite suffering a huge financial setback, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

During her turn on stage at the Four Seasons' Beverly Wilshire hotel, Sharon told the crowd: "I know that thing that you have to get on and figure out how to text the money is difficult.

"I'm a technical idiot, but I can write a f****** cheque. And right now, that's courage too, because I know what's happening. I just lost half my money to this banking thing, and that doesn't mean that I'm not here."

Sharon did not give any more details about the cause of her money troubles, but her revelation comes shortly after the headline-grabbing demise of Silicon Valley Bank which collapsed this week and caused instability in the financial markets.

During her speech - which she gave on receiving the charity's Courage Award - the 'Basic Instinct' star also addressed her grief over the death of her brother Patrick Stone, who passed away in February at the age of 57 after a battle with heart disease.

She went on: "My brother just died, and that doesn't mean that I'm not here. This is not an easy time for any of us."

"This is a hard time in the world, but I'm telling you what, I'm not having some politician tell me what I can and cannot do. How I can and cannot live, and what the value of my life is and is not. So stand up. Stand up and say what you're worth. I dare you. That's what courage is."

Indo-Asian News Service