Jackie Stallone, Reality TV Star and Sylvester Stallone's Mother, Dead at Age 98
Jackie Stallone, the mother of action movie star Sylvester Stallone and a fiery woman in her own right who appeared on reality television and ran away from home to join the circus when she was a girl, died Monday. She was 98.
Jacqueline Frances Labofish was born Nov. 29, 1921. At just 15, she left home and joined the circus — choosing the opposite of what her father wanted.
“My father, who was a wealthy lawyer, wanted me to go to law school, but I wanted to be on stage,” she said, according to the BBC.
Over the years Stallone was a trapeze artist, Broadway chorus girl, wrestler and wrestling promoter, astrologist and owner of a female-only gym in the 1950s.
After her son gained fame in Hollywood, she appeared on various talk shows and reality TV programs. One of the most memorable was her stint on “Celebrity Big Brother,” especially after the cold entrance she made.
Her presence on the show was noted by broadcaster Jamie East, who acknowledged her passing Tuesday on Twitter.
“Ah man, RIP Jackie Stallone – responsible for one of the greatest ever moments on television.”
Ah man, RIP Jackie Stallone – responsible for one of the greatest ever moments on television. #rackie
— Jamie East (@jamieeast) September 22, 2020
Her two sons, Frank Jr. and Sylvester, were born to her and her husband of 12 years, Frank Stallone Sr. Her daughter, Toni D’Alto, was born to her and her second husband, Anthony Filiti.
Stallone’s third marriage to Stephen Devine saw them living in separate places for most of their time together, something he wasn’t a fan of.
“He’d prefer we lived together, but I did that for 20 years with my previous husbands and it didn’t work,” she said, according to the BBC.
Chasing fitness well into her 90s, Stallone was still active and working out during a time when most people are sitting down and enjoying their rest. She had multiple plastic surgeries but ended up regretting them.
“Actually I’ve got too much,” she told Reveal magazine in 2013, according to the BBC. “I look like I’ve got a mouthful of nuts. … I feel I look like a chipmunk.”
Frank Stallone Jr. broke the sad news Monday morning on social media, noting that though the family is grieving, his mother went the best way she could have: in her sleep.
“This morning my brothers and I lost our mother Jackie Stallone,” he wrote. “She was the mother to four children, Tommy, Sylvester, Frankie and my late sister Toni Ann.”
“She was a remarkable woman working out everyday full of spunk and fearless. She died in her sleep as she had wished.”
“It was hard not to like her, she was very eccentric and flamboyant person. She was born on November 29 th 1921 in Washington DC, she lived through prohibition, the depression and World War II.”
Frank extolled her virtues, noting that her “mind was as sharp as a razor till the day she died” and that “Sylvester took care of her like a Queen for all of her life.”
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