Sylvester Stallone Biography

Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone (July 6, 1946) is an actor, screenwriter and film director, from the city of New York, United States. He was the first son of the Italian Frank Stallone, hairdresser and beautician, and Jacqueline Labofish, astrologer, dancer and promoter of women’s wrestling. His father emigrated to the United States in the 1930s, where he met Jacqueline. Soon after, Sylvester was conceived, at birth, he suffered a paralysis of a facial nerve on the left side, due to complications in childbirth. The economic situation of the home was not the best, as in several occasions, he had to spend a whole day without eating.

In addition, the familiar atmosphere was disturbing, his parents discussed frequently, this produced in the young person a rebellious and libertine character. Being only eleven years old, he was expelled from fourteen schools, although in a school, while he lived in Geneva, Switzerland with his mother in 1960, he was highly valued because a teacher discovered his talent for acting and encouraged him to continue strengthening this gift.

Back in North America, his ability for sports allowed him to enter the University of Miami with an athletic scholarship. Rapidly, he would become the star player of the college football team while taking acting classes. At the end of college, he was hired to play small acting roles for television in series such as Beretta or Kojak. His initial characters did not have much relevance. Although, with a little success, he took part in some Broadway’s theatrical productions.

Taking advantage of his strong body, he made a leading role in two pornographic films under the name of The Italian Stallion. Shortly after, he made his debut in the cine with small roles in the well-known films Bananas (1971) and Klute (1971). Stallone had learned how to write screenplays for films, in that sense, because the hard economic situation he was going through, he set himself out to write in the shortest possible time the main lines of Rocky. This script was written in three days. Stallone knocked on doors in search of a producer or film director to support this project.

Finally, he found John Avildsen who was interested in the proposal and its adaptation; Sylvester would play the lead role, resulting in great commercial success, with Rocky he would win two Oscars, as best actor and best screenwriter. After that moment he was contacted to perform strong roles that represented tough and brave men. Although, also made papers that required the opposite. For instance, in F.I.S.T., he played Jonnhy D. Kovak, a cargo shipper of a factory that forms a union to fight against the bad working conditions.

In 1997, he received the Best Actor award at the Stockholm International Film Festival, thanks to the film Cop Land co-starring with Robert De Niro, where he gained twenty kilos to play a policeman. Along with Robert, Stallone also worked on the film The Great Revenge in 2013

. Not all of Sylvester’s acting interventions were well received by the critics, some experienced criticism, and failure at gross incomes. Films like: Stop! Or my mom will shoot, Oscar, D-Tox, Driven and Angelo Avenging were some of the non-very-well-received Stallone’s movies.

During his career as an actor, director and screenwriter, he wrote and acted in various films. Films as The kitchen of the hell (1978); Rocky II (1979); Rocky III (1982); Rocky Balboa (2006); John Rambo (2008); The Expendables (2010), among others were directed by him. However, he acted in some films, like The prisoner of the second avenue (1974); The lords of Flatbush (1974); Farewell, my lovely (1975); Capone (1975); Cobra (1986); Over the top (1987); Rambo III (1988); Stop! or my mom will shoot (1992); Cliffhanger (1993); Escape plan (2013); Grudge match (2013); The Expendables 3 (2014); Creed (2015); Guardians of the galaxy VOL. 2 (2017).

In 2005, he decided to innovate and present to the public the reality show The Contender, produced and conducted by him, alongside with the former champion Sugar Ray Leonard. The reality show is based on the meeting of several boxers from different cities in the United States in a house where they train and every week they must win the position in the house. The show was a success in the United States.

In 2010, he would premier the film The Expendables, which he directed, produced and starred. The film narrates the story of a group of mercenaries hired by the CIA. In the movie are actors like Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis, Eric Roberts, Stone Cold and Randy Couture. Thanks to this and the good reception he received, he obtained the honorary Jaeger-LeCoultre award at the Venice International Film Festival.

In 2013, he also had another success with starring in the action film Bullet to the Head, directed by Walter Hill and the sequel to The Expendables, premiered on August 15, 2014, with great success.

His personal life has been equally productive to his life in the cinema. He has married three times and is the father of five children.Sasha Czack was his first wife from 1974 to 1985, with her he had two children: Sage and Seargeoh. Sage would die a of heart disease at the age of 36. He was also married to actress and model Brigitte Nielsen; they divorced in 1987. Years later, he would marry the model Jennifer Flavin, with whom he conceived three daughters: Sofia, Sistene, and Scarlet. While he was single he had love affairs with Susan Anton, Angie Everhart, Naomi Campbell, and Janice Dickinson. With Dickinson a controversy was created with regard to the daughter she had, she affirmed that her daughter was from Stallone. However, the medical tests proved her wrong.