Inside the life of Jade Goody – TV’s ‘first reality star’: From hilarious Big Brother gaffes to racism controversy and her tragic death aged just 27

Big Brother will make its long-awaited return this weekend, 23 years after the first series hit screens.

And while the show has spawned plenty of household names during its run, there’s one name that stands above the rest.

Jade Goody appeared in the third series of Big Brother in 2002, entering the house as an unknown dental assistant from south-east London and exiting nine weeks later as a nationwide star.

Her later years in the spotlight proved to be a turbulent time, with her controversial comeback Celebrity Big Brother In 2007 she was dogged by accusations of racism, before tragically dying two years later after a battle for her cervix cancer.

So, as Big Brother prepares to welcome a new batch of housemates in six weeks’ time, MailOnline looks back at the life and legacy of the original reality star.

Her Big Brother debut

Jade was a contestant on the third series of Big Brother in 2002 and applied for a place on the show by submitting a video of herself putting her whole body through a rubber band.

While working as a dental nurse at the time, she faced a difficult upbringing, caring for her mother, Jackie Budden.

She missed much of her schooling to care for her mom, who lost the use of her left arm and eye in a motorcycle accident when Jade was a child.

In a 2019 documentary called Jade: The Reality Star That Changed TV, Jackitt said Jade went on Big Brother to escape her troubled life.

She said: “We were a twisted, messed up family. She didn’t fall in love with fame. She came in to get away from me.’

Jade’s time on Big Brother came when the show was still in its infancy, and that series featured a wide array of characters including Adele Roberts, Alison Hammond and eventual winner Kate Lawler.

Jade-isms

During her time in the house, Jade left viewers in hysterics with a raft of rants, including whether ‘East Angular’ was in the UK or overseas.

She also wondered if the croissants were English because she “got them with a full English breakfast”, if Jerusalem is a real place or “only in the Bible” and “Do they speak Portuguese in Portugal? I thought Portugal was in Spain.’

In one tearful exchange, Jade also delivered the iconic quote: ‘Am I minging?’

Jade’s behavior caused some backlash from viewers, with Channel 4 chief executive Alex Mahon admitting in 2019 that it was a “mistake” to air some scenes.

However, she still made it to the finals, finishing in fourth place, and earned an extremely warm reception from the audience as she exited the house.

In later years, Jade became one of the UK’s most recognizable names, with a string of TV appearances and brands, and set the stage for many of the reality stars who are in the limelight today.

She also had two sons with then-partner Jeff Brazier, Bobby, 20, and Freddie, 19.

Controversial return

In January 2007, Jade made a surprise return to the Big Brother house for the Celebrity series, accompanied by her mother Jackie and boyfriend Jack Tweed, and the days that followed led to the star’s dramatic downfall.

During her stay in the house, Jade clashed with fellow housemate Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, including calling the actress ‘Shilpa Poppad’ and mocking her for bleaching her facial hair.

The particular moment that caused the most outrage was the huge fight between Jada and Shilpa over the Oxo Cube.

Jade told Shilpa that she was ‘no fucking princess here’, and she retorted that she needed ‘etiquette lessons’, as housemates Daniel Lloyd and Joe O’Meara laughed.

Back in 2007, Ofcom received more than 44,500 complaints from the public (a record at the time) and bosses decided not to be present live when Jade was evicted from the house.

Such was the scandal at the time that, although Shilpa did not make an official complaint about the racist behavior on Big Brother, her allegations forced the police to investigate a possible classification of her treatment as ‘racial hatred’.

While Jade gave interviews in the following days apologizing for her behaviour, the backlash brought her career to a screeching halt, and she checked into The Priory before retiring from the limelight in 2007.

Devastating news about cancer

In 2008, Jade was invited to appear on the Indian version of Big Brother, Bigg Boss, where she reunited with Shilpa, now the host of the show, to make amends.

But on just her second day in the house, Jade received the heartbreaking news that she had cervical cancer, with footage of the moment broadcast on Indian TV at the time.

In a clip from the Channel 4 show, Jade said: “I had no idea that conversation was being recorded… it wasn’t right.”

She said it was ‘lonely’ to feel like she was the last to know about her diagnosis and ‘just wanted to be pampered’.

Her untimely death

After being diagnosed with cancer, Jade decided to continue her reality show and work commitments to earn money for her young sons Bobby and Freddie while she battled cancer.

After learning she was terminally ill, the star tied the knot with Jack in an emotional ceremony just a month before her death.

Jade’s personal trainer and close confidant Kevin Adams praised her for fighting through the pain to make the most of every moment of her wedding, in footage from a 2019 Channel 4 documentary.

He said: ‘She was in terrible pain, she was dancing and she stayed dancing because it was her wedding day and that’s what you do.’

Jade died in her sleep in the early hours of March 22, 2009 with her mother and husband by her side, aged just 27.

The funeral was held at St John the Baptist Church in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, and a video montage of the star’s incredible life was shown on a big screen to the crowd outside.

Stars including Victoria Beckham and Simon Cowell sent flowers to be laid on her white coffin.

Fans have also praised the star for raising awareness of cervical cancer and the importance of regular Pap smears, with many calling her decision to be so public about her condition her “true legacy”.