She was known for her appearance on Big Brother, entering the house as an unknown assistant from London and leaving nine weeks later with nationwide fame.
Jade Goody’s later years proved turbulent, with her controversial return on Celebrity Big Brother in 2007 marred by accusations of racism before her death two years later following a tragic battle with cervical cancer.
After learning of her cancer diagnosis, Jade continued filming her reality show and other work commitments to make money for her then-young sons, Bobby and Freddy Brazier, while she battled the disease.
Before her passing, the then-27-year-old left a heartbreaking message for her sons, Bobby, now 21, and Freddy, now 20, whom she shared with TV presenter Jeff Brazier, 45.
Before her death, Jade created a photo album attached with a final message for her children, who were just four and five at the time, which read: ‘Dear Bobby and Freddy – I have asked for this book to be made so that when you are older, you can remember just how much fun we had.
‘I thank God that we made the most of our time together, and I treasure the moments we shared. These are the most precious moments.
‘Some person much wiser than me once said that if you never discovered something you would die for, then you haven’t lived. Well, you are both proof that I have lived, I I will always. Mummy’.
Here, Femail looks back at the life of the reality star who raised awareness on cervical cancer for women across the UK, as her loved ones prepare to mark 16 years since her death on Saturday.
Jade Goody left a heartbreaking message for her sons Bobby and Freddy Brazier before her death in 2009, which occurred 16 years ago on Saturday (seen in 2006)
Jade made her Big Brother debut in 2002, after applying via video where she passed her entire body through a rubber band.
Before her big break, Jade worked as a dental nurse while also caring for her mother, Jackiey Budden.
The reality TV star grappled with difficult circumstances throughout her childhood and missed much of her schooling to care for her mother, who lost the use of her left arm and eye in a motorbike accident when Jade was a child.
In a 2019 documentary, Jade: The Reality Star Who Changed TV, Jackiey told how her daughter went on the Channel 4 reality TV show to escape her troubled life.
She said: ‘We were a twisted-up, mucked-up family. She didn’t go in for fame. She went in to get away from me.’
Jade’s time on Big Brother came when the show was still in its infancy, and the third series featured characters including Adele Roberts, Alison Hammond, and eventual winner Kate Lawler.
The former Big Brother contestant tragically died in 2009 aged 27 following a battle with cervical cancer (seen in 2009)
Pictured: Freddy and Bobby Brazier at the Champion x Percival collaboration launch party in May, 2022 in London
During her stint in the house, Jade kept viewers entertained with her one-liners, including her questioning whether ‘East Angular’ was in the UK or abroad.
She also wondered whether Croissants were English because she ‘got them with a full English breakfast,’ if Jerusalem was a real place or ‘just in the Bible,’ and ‘Do they speak Portuguese in Portugal? I thought Portugal was in Spain.’
However, Jade’s behaviour also sparked backlash from viewers, with Channel 4’s chief executive Alex Mahon admitting in 2019 that it was ‘a mistake’ to broadcast scenes.
Jade still made it to the final, finishing in fourth place, and earned a warm reception from the crowd as she exited the house.
In the later years, Jade become one of the UK’s most recognisable names, with a slew of TV appearances and brand deals, and set the stage for reality stars that enter the spotlight today.
In January 2007, she made a surprise return to the Big Brother house for its celebrity series, accompanied by her mother Jackiey and boyfriend Jack Tweed, with the ensuing days leading to a dramatic fall from grace for the star.
During her time in the house, Jade clashed with fellow housemate, Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, including calling the actress ‘Shilpa Poppadom’ and mocking her for bleaching her facial hair.
A particular moment that caused the most outrage was a huge row between Jade and Shilpa over an Oxo Cube.
Pictured: Presenter Davina McCall and Jade Goody during the third season of Big Brother in July, 2002
In 2007, Jade returned to the Big Brother house for its celebrity series, and sparked thousands of Ofcom complaints after being accused of racist behaviour towards Shilpa Shetty
Ofcom received over 44,500 complaints from the public – and bosses opted not to have a live crowd when Jade was evicted from the house
Jade told Shilpa that she was ‘no f*****g princess here,’ and she hit back that she needed ‘etiquette classes’, while fellow housemates Danielle Lloyd and Jo O’Meara laughed throughout.
Back in 2007, Ofcom received more than 44,500 complaints from the public (a record at the time), and bosses opted not to have a live crowd when Jade was evicted from the house.
Such was the scandal at the time that, although Shilpa did not lodge an official complaint about racist behaviour with Big Brother, her allegations compelled police to investigate the possible classification of her treatment as ‘racial hatred’.
While Jade gave interviews in the ensuing days, apologising for her behaviour, the backlash brought her career to a screeching halt, and she checked herself into The Priory before stepping back from the spotlight in 2007.
In 2008, Jade was invited to appear on the Indian version of Big Brother, Bigg Boss, where she was reunited with Shilpa 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 that conversation was being filmed… it was not right.’
She said it felt ‘lonely’ to feel like she was the last to learn of her diagnosis and she ‘just wanted to be cuddled’.
In 2008, Jade appeared on the Indian version of Big Brother, but while she was in the house, she learned she’d been diagnosed with cervical cancer
After learning that the disease was terminal, Jade tied the knot with Jack in an emotional ceremony, just a month before her death
After her cancer diagnosis, Jade made the decision to continue with her reality show filming and work commitments to make money for her young sons Bobby and Freddy, while she battled cancer.
Upon learning that the disease was terminal, the star got married to Jack in an emotional ceremony, just a month before her death.
Jade’s personal trainer and close confidante Kevin Adams praised her for soldiering on through the pain to make the most of every moment of her wedding day, in footage from Channel 4’s 2019 documentary.
He said: ‘She was in excruciating 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, at the age of just 27.
The funeral service took place at St John the Baptist Church in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, with a video montage of the star’s remarkable life played on a big screen to crowds outside.
Stars including Victoria Beckham and Simon Cowell sent flowers to the service.
The public also recognised Jade for raising awareness of cervical cancer and the importance of regular smear tests.
Jade’s eldest son Bobby has made a name for himself as an actor on BBC’s EastEnders (pictured far left)
Freddy discussed the loss of his mother on BBC’s Celebrity Race Across the World with his father (pictured Jeff and Freddy)
Following Jade’s death, Jeff Brazier raised his sons singlehandedly, and instead of taking them to Jade’s funeral, Jeff took the boys away to stay with family in Australia to escape media attention.
He said: ‘It was always our priority, we wanted to do everything right for the kids and that was the case right up until the moment, and it didn’t stop at that point. That’s when the boys really needed us to be on each other’s side and we were.’
Now aged 21, Bobby has carved a career for himself on screen, having played Freddy Slater on EastEnders.
In 2023, when he won his gong at the National Television Awards, Bobby immediately hugged his father, who looked overjoyed at his son’s success.
Bobby credited his win to Jeff while on stage, saying: ‘This has very little to do with me and everything to do with my dad.
‘Over the course of the last 20 years I’ve heard him say, ‘because I can’. It was a mantra of his and him just saying that ‘because I can’. Because I can, why not?’
During his acceptance speech, the soap star stayed humble and joked he still feels like he has ‘no idea’ what he’s doing while on set.
Elsewhere, Freddy has also made a name for himself on television, having starred in last year’s Celebrity Race Across the World.
Joined by his father on the BBC challenge show, Freddy opened up about his grief in heartbreaking scenes before paying tribute to the Big Brother star amid their travels in Salvador.
He said: ‘I lost my mum when I was four and that was on Mother’s Day, which is really hard. I don’t really like showing my emotions. I don’t even speak to my dad much about my mum either. I just avoid it. I prefer to bottle it up’.
‘I don’t want to feel like I’m a burden to them. A lot of my memories that I have of my mum have come from watching a documentary, YouTube clips, newspapers, they are not my memories’.
While choking back tears he continued: ‘I don’t really remember being held by my mum. If I had more memories of her, it would have made it a whole lot harder for me.
‘But I think I would rather that than not really remember the things that I had done with my mum. It’s just life really and I’ve kind of accepted that’.
The father and son later agreed to pay tribute to Jade on Mother’s Day and headed to a famous beauty spot, with Freddy saying as they searched for it: ‘Maybe Mum’s pushing us in the direction of where we need to go.’
Before coming across it, he added: ‘Thank you, Mother Nature.’