Who was Sylvester Stallone’s mom, Jackie Stallone?

By all accounts, Jackie Stallone lived a life that pushed the limits of believability. 

She was born in Washington, DC on November 29, 1921, and it didn’t take long for her to start taking big swings. Trained by legendary bodybuilder and family friend Charles Atlas as a kid, she ran away from home and joined the Ringling Brothers circus, becoming an acrobat. When that didn’t prove to be a solid lifelong gig, she moved on to other work—The Hollywood Reporter states that she tried her hand at hairdressing and background stage acting. But none of that was what made her an American success story. For that, she’d need to turn to two of the greatest money makers in history: spirituality and televised violence. 

She was married three times: To actor/hairdresser Frank Stallone, Sr. from 1945 to 1957, to Anthony Filiti from 1959 to an indeterminate date, and finally to Stephen Levine in 1998, a marriage that would last the rest of her life. Aside from being the mother of Sylvester and Frank Stallone, Jackie was best known for her work in the fields of astrology— she claimed to have advised “kings, prime ministers, politicians, movie stars, gamblers, generals, gangsters, cops, and priests,” per Variety—and lady fights. Following a stint as a salon operator in Florida, she picked up steam in the public eye thanks to the success of her oldest son. A psychic hotline, a book on finding success in the stars, a women’s gym franchise, and a colorful, rapping on-screen persona on G.L.O.W.: Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling sprang up from the tangential fame she experienced once Sylvester became a household name. Additionally, she was a pioneer in the soft science of looking at people’s butts, advocating for “rumpology,” which was basically palmistry, but smellier. Yes really.

Jackie Stallone seemed eager to soak up whatever spotlights chanced her way, lending her image to workout videos, gaudy interviews, and Howard Stern. In 2005, she appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, albeit briefly, being voted out after four days. She spent her late-90s as a minor Instagram celebrity, continuing to show off her exercise chops in CrossFit videos.

On September 21, 2020, Frank Stallone took to Facebook to announce that his mother had passed away. According to his account, she had died in her sleep, as she had hoped to, at the impressive age of 98 years old. Maybe she saw it coming. Through rumpology and a handheld mirror, all things are possible.