Stone was considered academically gifted as a child and entered the second grade when she was 5 years old. Stone said that she and her sister were both sexually abused as children by their maternal grandfather, in an interview to The New York Times in March 2021, while promoting her memoir The Beauty of Living Twice. At 14, her neck was badly injured while breaking a horse when the animal bucked as it charged toward a washing line. She graduated from Saegertown High School in Saegertown, Pennsylvania, in 1975. Stone was admitted to Edinboro University of Pennsylvania on a creative writing scholarship at age 15, but quit college and moved to New York City to become a fashion model. Career Modeling and early screen appearances (1976–1989) Inspired by Hillary Clinton, Stone later went back to Edinboro University to complete her degree in 2016. While attending Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Stone won the title of Miss Crawford County, Pennsylvania, and in 1976, was a candidate for Miss Pennsylvania.
