Her family lived with body builder Charles Atlas, who trained the family in gymnastics, weight lifting, and jogging. Stallone was the first woman to have a daily television show on exercise and weight lifting in Washington, D.C., and later opened a women-only gym, named Barbella’s. During her youth, Stallone was a trapeze artist in a circus and a chorus girl in a nightclub. She was also a hairdresser. Her son Sylvester’s father was Italian American Frank Stallone Sr. She lived relatively quietly for most of her life. Even after Sylvester starred in the film Rocky in 1976 she remained unknown to the general public as his mother.

On May 21, 1992, Stallone appeared on The Howard Stern Show and engaged in a heated on-air argument with Sylvester’s dad, Frank Stallone Sr. She accused him of being horrible in bed and wanting to have Sylvester aborted. She said that she faked the abortion and that Frank did not know about it until she gave birth. Several curse words were said and some were not censored.

In 1994, Stallone was parodied in a Saturday Night Live skit in which Janeane Garofalo played Stallone. In the skit, Stallone advertised a psychic hotline telling of her two sons “Sylvester, the famous star, and Frank, a struggling musician”. Stallone encouraged customers to call so she could steer them away from the “Frank” (negativity) in their lives and toward the “Sylvester” (success).

In January 2005, she appeared on the UK TV series Celebrity Big Brother as a “surprise” contestant. She was brought onto the show to create tension within the “house”, as her former daughter-in-law Brigitte Nielsen, with whom she notoriously did not get along, was also a contestant. Stallone was the first contestant voted out by viewers after spending four days in the house.

Stallone appeared on BBC TV show Through the Keyhole in March 2007. On the show, Stefanie Powers explored her LA home and then interviewed her.

Jackie Stallone had three children and seven grandchildren. Her eldest grandchild Sage Stallone died unexpectedly in 2012. She had another grandson and three granddaughters through eldest son Sylvester, a grandson Rob Stallone through Frank, and a grandson through her late daughter Toni Filiti.

Stallone died in her sleep at her home in Los Angeles on September 21, 2020, at the age of 98.