Jackie Stallone, Sylvester Stallone’s Mother, Dead at 98

Jackie Stallone, the mother of actor Sylvester Stallone, has died. The celebrity astrologer and women’s wrestling promoter, who was also well known among British TV viewers for her stint on Celebrity Big Brother, passed away Monday morning, her son, singer Frank Stallone, confirmed. She was 98. A cause of death has not yet been revealed.

Sharing a gallery of photographs of his mother throughout her life, Frank revealed that his mother had “died in her sleep as she had wished.” He said that “her mind was as sharp as a razor till the day she died,” adding that “she never wore a mask a true revolutionary gal.”

“She was a remarkable woman working out everyday full of spunk and fearless,” the singer wrote. “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.”

Frank concluded his post by writing, “brother Sylvester took care of her like a Queen for all of her life.” He reflected on how he “will never be able to call my mom again or have her yell at me why I never got married.” He said that her family “loved her and her [spirit] to survive and prevail,” adding, “I’ll miss you always mommy.”

A mother to three famous children, Stallone had achieved success and notoriety of her own. Born Jacqueline Frances Labofish on Nov. 29, 1921, Stallone ran away from her Washington, D.C. home at the age of 15 to work as an acrobat for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circuses, according to The Hollywood Reporter. A longtime advocate for women’s fitness, she opened a female-only gym in the 1950s, called Barbella’s. In the mid-1980s, she appeared on the wrestling program Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (G.L.O.W.), a program that helped women’s wrestling become mainstream on television.

With a lifelong passion for astrology, Stallone also made a name for herself for giving astrological advice to the great and the good in Hollywood as well as world leaders. In 1989, she wrote the book Star Power: An Astrological Guide to Supersuccess, and throughout the ’80s and ’90s, she made a number of TV appearances advocating astrology. Her most well-known TV appearance, however, came in 2005, according to BBC, when she had a memorable turn on the UK’s version of Celebrity Big Brother, entering the house as a surprise contestant.

Stallone is survived by her husband Stephen Devine, her sons Sylvester and Frank, and six grandchildren. Her daughter, Toni D’Alto, whom she shared with Anthony Filiti, died from cancer in 2012.