In her native US, Jackie Stallone will likely be best remembered as an astrologer, dancer, women’s wrestling promoter, and of course, the mother of Hollywood legend Sylvester Stallone.
However, here in the UK, she will forever be etched in the pop culture history books after creating one of the most iconic – and quoted – reality TV moments of all time on Celebrity Big Brother back in 2005.
Jackie – who has died at the age of 98, it was announced on Tuesday – was at the centre of one of the show’s biggest ever stunts when she was dropped into the house partway through the series to surprise former daughter-in-law, Brigitte Nielsen.
And just seconds after stepping over the threshold of the Borehamwood abode, she’d served up a nugget of television more golden than the lamé outfit she was wearing.
The housemates – who included the likes of Caprice, John McCririck and Bez from the Happy Mondays – were taking part in a shopping task set in the renaissance, all playing parts of the royal court, when they were told to be upstanding for the arrival of the Queen Mother.
Unbeknown to them at this point, the new addition to the family was already familiar to Brigitte, who had been married to Jackie’s son Sylvester from 1985 to 1987.
During the live broadcast, viewers then saw a vintage car pull up outside the famous bungalow, before Jackie rather majestically emerged and headed inside.
As the internal door creaked, a faux fur-clad Jackie casually appeared from behind it, before the cameras cut to a close up on a visibly stunned Brigitte.
“Oh my god, Jackie?” Brigitte shrieked, clearly uncertain what to make of coming face-to-face with her former mother-in-law for the first time in nearly two decades.
Then, in an utterance that was part high camp, part Bond villain, Jackie nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders and proclaimed: “Yeah… Jackie.”
In that moment, Jackie firmly cemented herself in the nation’s consciousness, with those two small words going on to be quoted a million times over – and 15 years later, and they’re still immediately identifiable to her.
It also set the tone for the rest of Jackie’s stay in the Celebrity Big Brother house, as it soon became apparent that her surroundings were not up to the standard she had been expecting.
“I never knew I was coming to a dump like this, frankly,” she told her housemates within minutes of her arrival.
In one iconic Diary Room entry, Jackie vented her frustrations at not having enough A-listers to mingle with, complaining about the “nobodies” in the house and the lack of culture they brought.
“How about sending in a lovely harpist, and she can play a nice song for us while we dine?” she said, clearly having never seen an episode of Big Brother before.
Jackie’s CBB stint may have been short – she was evicted after four days, much to her delight – but there’s no argument that it was the mother(-in-law) of all twists.
Remembering her appearance, former Big Brother’s Little Brother host Dermot O’Leary said during a recent TV retrospective: “I think the great thing about Jackie going into the house was the fact that we lobbed a bomb in there. She offended everyone – she was completely oblivious. She didn’t even really know where she was.”
Rest in peace Jackie, ultimate Celebrity Big Brother legend.
