This Hollywood veteran was rejected at home and on screen. Despite these obstacles, he has grown and shared what “saved” his life.
His parents emotionally neglected this celebrity in a cold environment. He persevered and became one of the entertainment industry’s most accomplished and recognized individuals.
This actor’s family was complicated by several marriages and blended relationships. Jackie and Frank Sr. divorced in 1957 and had him and Frank Jr. His mother remarried and had Toni Ann in 1964 after the divorce.
The celebrity’s father remarried multiple times, adding Bryan, Carla, and 1997-born Dante. Bryan and Carla prefer privacy.
The actor struggled with more than just his brothers in his fractured household. He said, “I grew up in a really bad household, it was tough. Everyone felt dissatisfied with their identity. Mom and dad weren’t parents.”
Parents dropped him off at a Jackson Heights boarding house for four and a half to five years. He called it “transient.” The older woman-run residence separated him.
New York native remembers sitting at a table with people who didn’t speak to him at four years old, having no one to relate to during that vital time.
These early traumas made the actor a recluse and affected his relationships. His mother’s statements showed the neglect’s extent.
The actor recalls her saying, “‘The only reason you’re here is because the hanger didn’t work,’” or “‘bouncing down those steps didn’t cause you to get lost.’”
The actor said these heartbreaking comments revealed his mother’s problematic past, which prevented her from showing affection. He said she was “tied to the bed,” “whipped” and “terribly molested” in a “very cruel orphanage.”
This tragedy “short-circuited” her ability to show affection, he believed. He shared her aversion to physical contact, affecting his relationships.
This lack of love and stability at home affected his schoolwork. After being informed he didn’t fit in, the actor was expelled from 13 schools as a child.
He attended military schools, including disturbed adolescent facilities, due to his unorthodox behavior. His youth was “adventurous.”
His struggles continued into adulthood after hitting rock bottom. He slept in a bus terminal in NYC since he was broke.
He worried about being a “professional extra” since he “didn’t fit a certain mold” or the image of an attractive leading man when pursuing acting roles.
The performer, who publicly discussed plastic surgery, said congenital nerve damage partially immobilized his left face. After significant weight loss, that side sagged, requiring surgery.
He said people misread scars, but he didn’t mind plastic surgery. He asked, “Why not?” You get car body work.”
He clung to stability after sleeping in bus stops and fighting appearance stereotypes.
He survived the harsh NY winters with one coat. Speaking about it in an interview, “That coat saved my life.”
His determination kept him going, even while the coat kept him warm. On the career front, development was slow, and he was generally labeled as uncastable. However, rejection drove him to work harder.
His drive prevented him from living a normal life. “I had such a fixation on doing something heroic or special,” he said. He loves his rejections and failures because they pushed him to choose: give up or keep going.
His perseverance brought him great success. Sylvester Stallone, whose father died at 91, is a famous action actor known for his “Rocky” trilogy.
The physical demands of his job wore him down. He had four back surgeries, two shoulder surgeries, and a spinal fusion after breaking his neck on “The Expendables.”
The strain to maintain his athletic image drove him to eschew golf and basketball. Sylvester was lambasted for his acting, culminating in a Razzie for Worst Actor in 2000.
“When you become synonymous with blunt-force trauma, you’re not really leaving anyone with thought-provoking aftershocks of your performance,” he said of his career. Personal life has been as turbulent as career highs and lows for the celebrity.
He married three times. His first marriage was to actress Sasha Czack in December 1974. The couple separated in February 1985 but had two kids, Sage and autistic Seargeoh. Sage, his oldest son, died after a heart attack at 36.
Sylvester married Brigitte Nielsen in December 1985, finding love anew. The couple divorced in July 1987.
His third and longest marriage is to model Jennifer Flavin. Sophia, Sistine, and Scarlet Stallone were their daughters from their May 1997 marriage. After briefly filing for divorce in August 2022, they reunited and stayed together. Their marriage is 27 years old.
Sylvester Stallone has overcome hardship, rejection, and personal loss with unyielding drive. Even the hardest start can lead to great achievement, as his story reveals.