Jackie Stallone, the Wonderfully Eccentric Mother of Sylvester Stallone, Dies at 98

The news broke early Tuesday morning that Sylvester Stallone’s mother, Jackie, had passed away at the age of 98.

Her son, Grammy-nominated musician Frank Stallone, announce her death late Monday night on his Instagram page. He said she passed in her sleep, “as she had wished.”

Mama Stallone, as she was affectionally known, lived a colorful life in her 98 years. She was born on November 29, 1921, in Washington, D.C. Stallone said she entered the entertainment business at 15 when she started working as an aerialist for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s Circus. From there, she became the first woman to have a daily exercise TV show and opened a women’s gym called Barbella’s. She also worked as a promoter and manager for the GLOW: Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling for five years.

In regards to Stallone’s passing, Former GLOW wrestler Angelina Altishin tweeted, “98 years young and was still doing Pilates when we last spoke. What a fire she would light inside me each time we connected.”

After she parted ways with GLOW, Stallone made a name for herself as a celebrity astrologist. She was known for the practice of rumpology, which is, “the art of reading lines, crevices, dimples, and folds of the buttocks to divine the individual’s character.”

Though she led an active career life, she managed to find time to raise three children. Her two sons, Frank and Sylvester, were from her first marriage to hairdresser Frank Stallone Sr. She had her late daughter, Toni d’Alto, during her second marriage to Anthony Filiti. D’Alto passed away in 2012 from lung cancer.

This force of nature was in good health until the day she died. Stallone frequently posted on Instagram about her work out routine, featuring pictures of her with medicine balls and dumbells. There are also videos of her in tap dance classes and doing Pilates.