Jackie Stallone, Sylvester Stallone's mother, dies at 98

Rachel Yang
·3 min read

E. Charbonneau/WireImage

Jackie Stallone, entertainer and Sylvester Stallone's mother, has died at age 98.

Her son Frank Stallone confirmed his mother's death in an Instagram post, saying that she had died in her sleep. "She was a remarkable woman working out everyday full of spunk and fearless," he wrote, adding, "It was hard not to like her, she was very eccentric and flamboyant person."

View this post on Instagram

This morning my brothers and I lost our mother Jackie Stallone . 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 . I would talk to her for hours about the 20's 30's and 40's. It was a history lesson. Her mind was as sharp as a razor till the day she died. She never wore a mask a true revolutionary gal . I guess I'm drowning my emotions in tears and to much vino. But when you've known someone for 70 yrs it tough and sad. She had seven grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren . My brother Sylvester took care of her like a Queen for all of her life. 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 sprit to survive and prevail . I'll miss you always mommy. @officialslystallone

A post shared by Frank Stallone (@frank.stallone) on Sep 21, 2020 at 9:22pm PDT

While known as the mom of the Rocky star and musician Frank Stallone, she had a notable career in her own right. She starred in the '80s wrestling show GLOW: Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, and the organization later inspired the Netflix series of the same name. Stallone was also an astrologist who published books, appeared on television, and had her own psychic hotline.

As an actress, Jackie's appearances included 1993's Beach Babes from Beyond and 1996's The Appointment. She also had stints on reality programs like the UK series Celebrity Big Brother, which reunited her with former daughter-in-law Brigitte Nielsen. Janeane Garofalo even portrayed her on Saturday Night Live, and her public persona has been referenced in shows from Absolutely Fabulous to Talk Soup.

Born in 1921 in Washington, D.C., Jackie left home at the age of 15 to join the circus and was later the first woman to have a daily exercise show in D.C.

In 2017, Sylvester honored Jackie in a video message for Mother's Day.

"You're an amazing mother. There's no one like you. You put up with so much strife in your life, so much bulls—," he said. "[You] made an incredible indelible impression and certainly have fortified me and given me the right DNA and genes to go ahead. But mostly, I think what I've inherited is the heart. Because that's what separates me from the rest and that's what separates you from the rest — is we're very sensitive and we're sensitive to other people's feelings."

Stallone is survived by her sons and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

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