Sylvester Stallone: From Underdog to Icon
Sylvester Stallone has continued to leave his mark on Hollywood well into the 21st century. He revived his legendary characters in Rocky Balboa (2006) and Rambo (2008), before launching a brand-new action-packed franchise with The Expendables (2010–present), where he plays the tough-as-nails mercenary, Barney Ross.
In 2013, he co-starred in the box office hit Escape Plan, which spawned several sequels. Two years later, Stallone returned to the role that made him a household name—Rocky Balboa—in Creed (2015). This time, an older, wiser Rocky steps into the role of mentor for Donnie Creed, the son of his former rival-turned-friend, Apollo Creed. The film brought Stallone widespread critical acclaim, earning him his first Golden Globe Award and a third Academy Award nomination—remarkably, for the same role he was first nominated for nearly 40 years earlier.
Since 2022, he has taken on a new challenge, starring as a mafia capo rebuilding his empire in the Paramount+ crime drama Tulsa King.
Early Life and Roots
Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone was born on July 6, 1946, in Manhattan’s gritty Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. He is the elder son of Jacqueline “Jackie” Stallone, a promoter of women’s professional wrestling, and Francesco “Frank” Stallone Sr., a hairdresser and Italian immigrant from Gioia del Colle. His mother, originally from Washington, D.C., had a rich heritage of Breton French and Ukrainian Jewish ancestry.
His younger brother, Frank Stallone, would go on to become an actor and musician. While many biographies list his birth name as “Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone,” his mother once revealed she initially named him “Tyrone” after actor Tyrone Power. However, his father changed it to Sylvester. As a child, he was affectionately nicknamed “Binky,” but after classmates teased him with “Stinky,” he opted to go by Mike or Michael instead. His middle name “Gardenzio” is derived from the Italian name “Gaudenzio,” which he occasionally shortens to “Enzio.”
Stallone’s distinct slurred speech and signature sneer stem from a complication during birth, when forceps used by doctors severed a nerve, partially paralyzing the lower left side of his face. This resulted in challenges with his speech and appearance, leading to childhood bullying. To cope, Stallone turned to bodybuilding and acting—channels through which he would ultimately find strength and confidence.
During his early childhood, Stallone spent time in foster and boarding care before reuniting with his family in Maryland at age five. In the early 1950s, the family moved to Washington, D.C., where his father opened a beauty school and his mother launched a women’s gym, Barbella’s, in 1954. After his parents divorced when he was 11, Stallone initially stayed with his father before moving to Philadelphia to live with his mother and her new husband at age 15.