Sylvester Stallone and his mom Jackie Stallone.Photo:SGranitz/WireImage
SGranitz/WireImage
Jackie Stallone may have been best known as the mother of actorsSylvester StalloneandFrank Stallone Jr., but she also had her own exciting career.
She took on many different roles throughout her life, including psychic, wrestling manager and even reality star. When Jackiedied on Sept. 21, 2020, at the age of 98, she left a lasting legacy.
Frank broke the news of her death, sharing a touchingtribute on Instagram. “This morning my brothers and I lost our mother Jackie Stallone," he wrote in the caption. “She died in her sleep as she had wished. It was hard not to like her, she was a very eccentric and flamboyant person.”
Throughout her life, Jackie was regularly in the press and went on many talk shows, includingThe Howard Stern ShowandThe Graham Norton Show.
After her death,Stern remembered Jackie fondly, saying, “She was one of the greats of our show … one of those people that would walk into the room and right away you were having fun. I know the boys loved her dearly."
Sylvester and his brother have opened up about their occasionally tough childhood due to their parents' busy careers and how they repaired their relationship with Jackie in adulthood. In his tribute to their mom, Frank wrote, “My brother Sylvester took care of her like a Queen for all of her life.”
From her career to her parenting, here is everything to know about Sylvester Stallone’s mother Jackie Stallone.
She was married three times and had four children
Jackie Stallone, Frank Stallone, Sylvester Stallone, and Frank Stallone Sr.Frank Stallone Instagram
Frank Stallone Instagram
Jackie’s first husband was Italian barber Frank Stallone Sr. Together, they had two children, Sylvester and Frank.
After their divorce in the late 1950s, Jackie went on to marry Anthony Filiti and together they had a daughter, Toni Ann D’Alto, who died in 2012 from lung cancer.
That same year, Sylvester’s 36-year-old son Sage also died from a health condition. “She’s too young to go, but she wasn’t feeling any pain,” Jackie toldNew York Daily Newsof Toni Ann. “What a terrible month. First Sage and now Toni. It’s hard. At least they’re together now in heaven.”
Jackie and Filiti also divorced, and she remarried again to her final husband Stephen Levine in 1998 — the pair were married until her death.
Frank Jr.’s Instagram tribute to his mother included a mention of a fourth child, Tommy.
She had a tumultuous relationship with Sylvester and Frank
Sylvester Stallone and his mom Jackie Stallone.E. Charbonneau/WireImage
In his 2023 Netflix documentarySly, Sylvester shared thathe was born with his “snarl”because his mother went into labor while riding the bus, giving him partial facial paralysis.
“Even though she was nine months pregnant, she kept riding around on the bus,” he said in the film. “She [went] into labor. Somebody was smart enough to get her off the bus, they carried her into a charity ward. And that’s where I was brought into the world via this accident which kind of paralyzed all the nerves on the side of my mouth. So I was born with this snarl.”
Later in the documentary, Sylvester and Frank also recalled their parents' turbulent relationship. “I’d be up in bed and you’d just hear them screaming and yelling,” Frank said in the film. The brothers spent much of their youth living in boarding houses instead of at home.
“The majority of the time, I was living in a boarding house,” Sylvester said in the documentary, “basically 12 months a year, never went home, because they just didn’t have time, they were both working.”
Frank also recalled growing up in a boarding house, saying, “I think they were both so self-absorbed with their own stuff that they just pawned us off.” Later on in life, Jackie and her sons' relationships mended and the family grew closer.
She was an astrologer
Jackie Stallone.Frank Stallone Instagram
Jackie was an astrologer and, according toThe Hollywood Reporter, she even had her own psychic hotline for a short time. In 1989 she publishedStar Power: An Astrological Guide to Supersuccess. The book not only gave astrological advice, but it also offered Jackie’s personal readings of celebrities likeMadonna,Michael JacksonandElizabeth Taylor.
Sylvester even gave the book his blessing, providing a promotional blurb. “My marvelous, extraordinary, irrepressible, unpredictable Mother," he wrote. “Considering that she has successfully predicted every major event in my life through her uncanny mastery of the ancient art of astrology, I can say this is one momma who really knows best.”
One of Jackie’s specialties was practicing what she called “rumpology," self-defined as the practice of looking at the lumps, wrinkles and crevices of someone’s butt to gain insight into their personality traits and potential future.
In a 1999 appearance onSo Graham Norton, the host asked Jackie about the method and she responded, “It’s the only thing you can take with you, and never leave it at home. You can leave an arm at home, a leg at home, do you ever see someone walk around without their behind?”
Jackie remained physically active until her death
Jackie Stallone and Frank Stallone.Frank Stallone Instargram
Frank Stallone Instargram
Fitness was incredibly important to Jackie. Not only did she have her own exercise show on local television in the Washington, D.C. area, butaccording toUSA Today, she eventually opened up a ladies-only gym in the city called Barbellas.
Beginning in 1986, Jackie started appearing in a series of Richard Simmons workout videos,Richard Simmons and the Silver Foxes. In the series, Simmons would workout with parents of celebrities to help inspire seniors to exercise.
She was a manager for the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW)
Jacqueline Stallone stands in the ring May 4, 1988, in Los Angeles, CA.Laura Luongo/Liaison
Laura Luongo/Liaison
Long beforeGLOWbecame a hit series on Netflix, Jackie was living the real thing. She served as a promoter, manager and House Mother to the “good girls."
After her death, GLOW wrestler Angelina Altishin (a.k.a. Little Egypt)mourned Jackie’s death on X (formerly Twitter). “Oh my heart broke hearing of the passing of #JackieStallone. 98 years young and was still doing Pilates when we last spoke," she wrote. “What a fire she would lite inside me each time we connected. She wasn’t just the mother of @TheSlyStallone she was our good girl manager in #glow.”
She was a contestant onCelebrity Big Brother
Jacqueline Stallone.Peter Jordan - PA Images/PA Images/Getty
Peter Jordan - PA Images/PA Images/Getty
In 2005, Jackie was a contestant on the third season ofCelebrity Big Brotherin the United Kingdom. Her surprise entrance to the house was shocking and iconic to viewers because one of the contestants already in the house wasBrigitte Nielsen, the ex-wife of her son Sylvester.
Though Jackie was only in the house for about a week before her eviction, she quickly became a fan favorite thanks to her bombastic and over-the-top demeanor. Throughout her time in the house, she asked Big Brother for champagne and wine at dinner and for a harpist to play for the contestants.
She died at 98 years old
Sylvester Stallone, son Sage Stallone and mother Jackie Stallone attend the “True Lies” Westwood Premiere on July 12, 1994.Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty
source: people.com
