While attending Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Stone won the title of Miss Crawford County, Pennsylvania, and in 1976, was a candidate for Miss Pennsylvania. One of the pageant judges told her to quit college and move to New York City to become a fashion model. Stone left Meadville and moved in with an aunt in New Jersey, and by 1977, she had been signed by Ford Modeling Agency in New York City. She soon moved to Europe, living for a year in Milan and then in Paris.
While living there, she decided to quit modeling and pursue acting. 'So I packed my bags, moved back to New York, and stood in line to be an extra in a Woody Allen movie,' she later recalled.
