Sylvester Stallone was born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone in New York City, the elder son of Frank Stallone, Sr., a hairdresser, and Jacqueline “Jackie” Stallone, an astrologer, former dancer, and promoter of women’s wrestling. Stallone’s father was born in Gioia del Colle, Apulia, Italy, and emigrated to the United States in the 1930s. Continue reading to see why you should never give up on your dreams.
Complications his mother suffered during labor forced her obstetricians to use two pairs of forceps during his birth; misuse of these accidentally severed a nerve and caused paralysis in parts of Stallone’s face. As a result, the lower left side of his face is paralyzed – including parts of his lip, tongue, and chin – an accident which has given Stallone his snarling look and slightly slurred speech. Stallone was baptized Catholic.
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His father, a beautician, moved the family to Washington, D.C., where he opened a beauty school. His mother opened a women’s gymnasium called Barbella’s in 1954. Stallone’s parents divorced when Sylvester was nine, and he eventually lived with his mother. He attended Notre Dame Academy and Lincoln High School in Philadelphia. He attended Charlotte Hall Military Academy prior to attending Miami Dade College and the University of Miami. When Stallone was nearly broke in New York, barely $50 to his name, he sold the script to Paradise Alley for $100.
