Heads turned as Hollywood actress Sharon Stone made a surprise visit to Thanet.

The star, best known for her controversial role in the 1992 movie Basic Instinct, has been spotted in Margate and Broadstairs throughout the past week and even tweeted about her visit to the photo exhibition at Turner Contemporary.

She clearly enjoyed the current display, documenting Brits' love affair with the seaside over the years, telling her 114,000 Twitter followers it was 'fantastic.'

The 61-year-old also paid a visit to vintage shop Madam Popoff on Thursday (August 1) with shop owner Deborah Ellis saying the actress spent 15 minutes browsing before buying a cashmere jumper.

But the penny only dropped that it was the star once she had left the shop on King Street.

“It was a bit random,” said Ms Ellis.

“I was looking at her talking to her friend, it was all very normal. I asked where she was from and she said California.

“When she left I thought ‘that was Sharon Stone – I just sold Sharon Stone a jumper’.

“If this was Harrods, you might think ‘well ok, that’s not too unusual’ but this is a shop in Margate.”

'I have had famous people in here before but Sharon Stone?' - Deborah Ellis

The shop owner says the actress was with a British friend.

“We were chatting about normal things, I can’t remember what but it was just normal,” she said.

“She was very stylish. She looked like she had money – you know when you look at someone and you can just tell?

“She was very beautiful, but natural.

“It was all very casual but it’s actually the weirdest thing.

“I have had famous people in here before but Sharon Stone?”

She added: “Margate was in the LA Times, maybe she saw it in there.”

Ms Ellis says it’s no surprise famous people are dropping into Margate with so much going on, including the Turner Prize.

The team at Turner Contemporary were delighted with her visit, tweeting: "Thanks for visiting - and enjoy the rest of your stay in Margate!"

During her time in the town, the actress also dropped into the Joke Shop and Bong Shop in the high street.

Sharon, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for her Basic Instinct role, had been in London earlier in the week, but headed back to the coast yesterday (August 7), stopping at Stone Bay in Broadstairs.

She was seen with a group of friends photographing beach huts and chatting to the locals.

As well as her role in Basic Instinct, Sharon won acclaim for performances in movies The Mighty and The Muse.

In more recent years, she has starred in the series Agent X, Mosaic, The New Pope and Ratched.

Her endorsement is the latest shot in the arm for Margate, which was given a glowing write-up in the Sunday Times last month.

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