Jade Goody



Jade Cerisa Lorraine Goody (5 June 1981 – 22 March 2009) was an English reality television personality. She came into the public spotlight while appearing on the third series of the then Channel 4 programme Big Brother in 2002, an appearance which led to her own TV programmes and the launch of her own products after her eviction from the show. In 2003, following her appearance in Big Brother, Goody was voted by the public as the fourth worst Briton in Channel 4's 100 Worst Britons (inspired by the BBC series 100 Greatest Britons).

In January 2007, she was a housemate in Celebrity Big Brother 5. During the show she was accused of racially bullying the Indian actress Shilpa Shetty. Following her eviction from the show, she admitted her actions had been wrong and subsequently made many public apologies. In late 2007 and early 2008, several public polls put Goody in an unfavourable light.

In August 2008, she appeared on the Indian version of Big Brother, Bigg Boss, but withdrew early from the show and returned to the UK after being told she had cervical cancer. In February 2009, after the cancer metastasised, she was told that it was terminal. She married Jack Tweed on 22 February 2009 and died, one month later, in the early hours of 22 March 2009. Sky Living aired five tribute shows to Goody from 2009 to 2012 documenting her early life to fame and her final months. The final episode of Big Brother on Channel 4 featured a 15-minute tribute to Goody, hailing her as the ultimate Big Brother contestant. Goody featured on the front cover of the final ever edition of the News of the World paper in July 2011.

Early life
Prior to Goody's entry into the Big Brother house, she was a dental nurse. Goody lived with her sons in Upshire, a village in Essex. Her father, Andrew Robert Goody (February 1963 – August 2005), who was of mixed race (born to a white English mother and a West Indian father), was a drug addict and habitual criminal, who served prison sentences including a four-year term for robbery. He and Goody's mother, Jackiey Budden (born April 1958), split up when Goody was two, and he became estranged from Goody, whilst Goody's mother brought her up in Bermondsey. Goody's father died of a drug overdose in Bournemouth, aged 42.

[edit] Diagnosis and publicity
Goody had a number of health scares throughout the 2000s. In 2002, shortly before her Big Brother 3 appearance, she had a cervical smear test which revealed abnormal cells, a possible indicator of cancer. She was later tested for ovarian cancer in 2004 and bowel cancer in 2006, but was given the all-clear on each occasion. She underwent hospital tests in early August 2008 after her fourth cancer scare. She had already collapsed four times. The test results confirmed she had cervical cancer; she was told of this on 19 August 2008 while in the Indian version of Big Brother, called Bigg Boss. Her spokesperson said, "It looks like her cancer is at an early stage but we will have to wait until she gets back to Britain and sees a specialist and has more tests".

On 1 September 2008 it was reported that Goody's cancer was "advanced and life-threatening" and that she would be having an operation followed by chemotherapy. Doctors warned that her survival chance could be as low as 65%. Further tests, and a radical hysterectomy, "went well" according to her publicist, and Goody began a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

 In an interview with Irish broadcasting company RTÉ she admitted having started planning her funeral. Furthermore, Goody told the broadcaster that she was losing all her hair and had decided not to explain her illness to her children.

 On 4 February 2009 Max Clifford, Goody's publicist, confirmed that Goody's cancer had spread to her liver, bowel and groin. Therefore, the previous estimate of a 40% chance of survival was withdrawn and she underwent treatment to prolong her life. On 7 February, Clifford reported that Goody had undergone emergency surgery in London to remove a tumour on her bowel.

On 14 February, Clifford confirmed media reports that doctors at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London  had declared her cancer as terminal and that she could be dead within weeks, and at the most was unlikely to survive more than a few more months. He stated "She was informed yesterday that tragically, she's terminally ill. She was obviously devastated." Goody then began drawing up a will and making plans for the future care of her two sons.

On 5 March 2009, Goody requested to be christened from her bed at the Royal Marsden Hospital; on 7 March she and her sons were christened. Clifford confirmed that this would be Goody's last public appearance, and that she had already said her goodbyes to her family. He stated, "We're hoping and praying that Jade pulls through, but the fact of the matter is that she now only has a short time to live." He also confirmed that doctors had said the next 24 hours were crucial to assessing how long it would be before she died, but that she had only a very short time left regardless. Her husband Jack Tweed was allowed to extend his curfew so he could spend a final night with his wife before she said her final goodbyes to her family.

When news broke that Goody's cancer was terminal, medical authorities in the UK began reporting a surge in requests from women, particularly younger women, for screening for cervical cancer. This reversed a trend which had seen demand for screening decline overall in the past decade, with the highest decline being among women aged 25–29.

As a result of the publicity surrounding Goody's illness, on 13 March 2009 government health ministers agreed to review the NHS's policy of not offering screening for cervical cancer until the age of 25 in England (it is 20 in the rest of the UK). Goody issued a press release the same day, saying that she was "immensely proud" that she had helped prompt the review.

[edit] Death and funeral
Goody died in her sleep in the early hours of 22 March 2009.The reported exact time of her death varies by news source.Her mother Jackiey Budden, husband Jack Tweed, and family friend Kevin Adams were by Goody's bedside when she died. Her death was widely covered by British media. The BBC received criticism for its extensive coverage on Goody during her battle with cancer. The Corporation later admitted via their Newswatch programme that on reflection their coverage had been excessive.

A car in Goody's funeral procession with East Angula (sic) spelt out in flowers in The Blue market,Bermondsey, LondonGoody received tributes from all strata of society. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown stated: Goody's funeral service took place at noon on 4 April 2009 at St John's Anglican Church, Buckhurst Hill, Essex. Later that day she was buried near her home in Epping Forest. The funeral cortège consisted of 21 cars, one of which was a Bentley used by the family. Several celebrities sent flowers, including David and Victoria Beckham and Simon Cowell. Davina McCall, Jamelia and Antony Costa were among the celebrity mourners. It was estimated that the funeral cost £30,000.Goody's coffin was white, and she was buried wearing her wedding dress and with two pictures, one of each of her sons, by her side. Goody's two sons did not attend the funeral, having been taken by their father to Australia.

Thousands of mourners followed the funeral service on big screens outside the church; the funeral was also broadcast live on Sky News, which followed the service from outside, as Goody had wished to keep it a private ceremony for friends and family.

[edit] Tributes and legacy
<p style="line-height:1.5em;">Sky Living aired five tribute shows to Goody from 2009 to 2012 documenting her early life to fame and her final months. The final ever episode of Big Brother on Channel 4 featured a 15-minute tribute to Goody hailing her as the ultimate Big Brother contestant.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:1.5em;">In April 2009, Goody was named the "ultimate reality TV star" by Digital Spy, and plans were announced for Jade the Musical. In the same month, Sir Michael Parkinson wrote that Goody had become property of the media "to be manipulated and exploited till the day she died". He claimed she represented "all that is paltry and wretched about Britain". On 29 December 2009, The Independent reported that according to a tribute site, Goody was the most mourned celebrity of 2009, receiving more tributes even than Michael Jackson. The opening night of Big Brother 10 was dedicated to her memory, and a tribute to her was shown on the final night of Ultimate Big Brother.

[edit] Cervical cancer awareness
<p style="line-height:1.5em;">A spokeswoman from Cancer Research UK commented on Goody's legacy on the day of her funeral: <p style="line-height:1.5em;">In October 2009, it was reported that the number of women aged between 25 and 64 going for smear tests in the United Kingdom had grown by 12% during the previous year, the increase comes after the figures declining year on year since 2002. This increase has been credited to Goody's high profile battle with cervical cancer. Thomas Moore, the health correspondent for Sky News said: <p style="line-height:1.5em;">In addition to this, Health Secretary Andy Burnham commented: <p style="line-height:1.5em;">For raising cancer awareness, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: