Jackie Stallone: Sylvester Stallone's mother and celebrity Big Brother star dies at age 98
Jackie Stallone, the mother of Hollywood actor Sylvester and one of Celebrity Big Brother's most memorable stars, has died aged 98. A larger-than-life character, Stallone's varied career included working as an acrobat, running a psychic hotline and promoting women's wrestling.
Tributes have been paid to "a remarkable woman" by one of her other sons, Frank, who confirmed the news in a statement.
Jackie Stallone, celebrity astrologer, women's wrestling promoter and mother of actors Sylvester and Toni D'Alto and singer Frank, has died. She was 98.
Stallone died on Monday "in her sleep as she had wished", he wrote on social media.
"It was hard not to like her, she was [a] very eccentric and flamboyant person," Frank wrote.
"Her mind was as sharp as a razor till the day she died."
He said his brother Sylvester had taken "care of her like a Queen for all of her life", and added: "I will never be able to call my mom again or have her yell at me why I never got married. But we all loved her and her spirit to survive and prevail. I'll miss you always mommy."
Frank said he is "drowning my emotions in tears and too much vino" following his mother's death.
A larger-than-life character with three famous children, Stallone achieved success and notoriety of her own as one of America's foremost psychics and authored several books on astrology. She was also a champion of women's fitness and was a key figure promoting G.L.O.W., the women's wrestling company, which had its heyday in the 1980s.
Jacqueline Frances LaboFish, born on November 29, 1921 in Washington DC, went through the Stallone Depression and ran away as a teenager to work as an acrobat for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. She also acted as a chorus girl and hair dresser.
Stallone was married three times. She married Frank Stallone Sr., a hairdresser and occasional actor, in 1945 and gave birth to Sylvester in 1946 and Frank Jr. in 1950. Her marriage to Frank S. last twelve years. She then married Anthony Filiti in 1959, and gave birth to D’Alto in 1964 with her second husband. D’Alto died from cancer in 2012. She married her third husband, Stephen Devine in 1998.
Stallone was married three times and had three sons and a daughter, Toni D'Alto, who died in 2012.
A famous celebrity astrologer and women's wrestling promoter, she had a very memorable, albeit brief, stint in the Celebrity Big Brother house in the UK in 2005, alongside contestants including the late John McCririck, model Caprice, Happy Mondays star Bez, and Germaine Greer.
A surprise contestant who went into the famous house a few days after the series had kicked off, Stallone entered much to the shock of co-housemate and former daughter-in-law Brigitte Nielsen, with whom she had a frosty relationship.
"Oh my God! Jackie!" a stunned Nielsen exclaimed when she first saw her.
stallone's response - "Yeah... Jackie" - as she wore a fur coat and sunglasses, became a famous line from the show.
Despite being evicted from the house after just four days following clashes with racing pundit McCririck, she became one of the show's most loved characters.
Fans of the series have been paying tribute to the woman they say made one of the greatest entrances in its history.
Jamie East, who presented spin-off show Big Brother's Bit On The Side, wrote on Twitter: "Ah man, RIP Jackie Stallone - responsible for one of the greatest ever moments on television."
She had seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, Frank said.
In the mid-1980s, she was a key figure in mainstreaming the women's wrestling promotion the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (G.L.O.W.), joining the organization during its heyday just as it had started to gain traction on television. Stallone performed as the kayfabe owner of G.L.O.W. and also managed some of the talent. The origins of G.L.O.W. were recently adapted into a Netflix series.
Jackie Stallone is survived by her husband Stephen Devine, her sons Sylvester and Frank and six grandchildren.
