Sylvester Stallone is known for his Hollywood roles and dashing good looks, but his family has also shared some of his famous spotlight along the way. His daughters in particular—Sistine, Sophia, and Scarlet—are now all grown-up and embarking on their own journeys as adults.
Who is Sylvester Stallone?
Sylvester Stallone (2019) (Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
Sylvester Stallone was born in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan, on July 6, 1946, to an American astrologer mother and an Italian father who, according to the Guardian, Stallone claimed “ate raw sparrows and rabbit entrails. He was a caveman type,” Stallone said. “A real character.”
According to the Chicago Tribune, his mother had insisted doctors used two tribunes when she delivered Stallone, which were misused and ended up tearing his facial nerve on the left side, leaving the infant with a partially paralyzed lip, chin, and tongue. That accident would give him the slurred speech, and iconic snarly look fans recognize him for today. In his 20’s, Stallone yearned to find work as an actor in the big apple of New York, but no matter how many auditions he attended, he would never get cast. “Nobody, nobody, would give me a break,” he bitterly recalled.
By 1975, with a pregnant wife and only $106 in his name, Stallone was desperate to find work. But with nobody willing to hire him, he took matters into his own hands and, in under four days, wrote the screenplay for Rocky. The actor claims he was initially offered $360,000 for the script, so long as he agreed not to star in it, which he turned down. Instead, he went with a $75,000 salary with a 10% profit cut, which guaranteed him the chance to portray the main character in his film. The production was a tremendous success, grossing more at the box office than any other in 1976 and bagging an Oscar win for ‘Best Picture’ that following year. And the rest, as they say, is history.