Jade Goody rose to fame on season 3 of Big Brother in 2003.
She was 20 years old at the time and finished in 4th place on the popular programme. Before she shot to stardom, Jade endured a tough upbringing in South East London as both her parents suffered with drug addiction problems and split when she was just two years old.
Jade eventually disowned her dad, Andrew Goody, who served four years in prison for robbery and died of an overdose aged 42 in 2005. She remained close with her mum, Jackiey Budden, who said she entered Big Brother to escape her life.
READ MORE: Jade Goody's son Bobby Brazier says he doesn't miss mum for tragic reason
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 claimed she spoke without thinking when she arrived in the house and her unfiltered personality became a major talking point on one of Big Brother's most watched seasons.
She transformed into a reality TV star following her stint on the show and remained in the public eye through regular television appearances on celebrity editions of programmes such as Wife Swap, Weakest Link and Stars in their Eyes. She was the first UK reality TV star to become a millionaire and also released an autobiography and her own best selling perfume range in 2006.
Jade hit the headlines for the wrong reasons when she was accused of racism for comments directed towards Shilpa Shetty during her return to the Big Brother house for the show's celebrity edition in 2007. Jade apologised for her actions and later appeared on the Indian edition of Big Brother named Bigg Boss in 2008.
However, her appearance on the show was cut short when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, which she tragically died from at the age of just 27 years old. The conversation with her doctor took place in the show's diary room - and Jade initially thought it was a hoax.
She told Now Magazine : "I asked the doctor what hospital I was born in. When he answered right, I thought: ‘Oh my God, it’s real.’ Then he said: ‘Jade, you’ve got cancer.’ The last thing on this planet I expected was for them to tell me that. I knew it wasn’t a joke then. My heart sank."
According to Mirror Online, Jade's story is unique because of how young she was when she died from cervical cancer, but also because of the symptoms she suffered. She was just 15 and not sexually active when she first contracted the human papilloma virus (HPV) and abnormal cells were found during a smear test. She had them removed, but two years later they returned and a second operation took place to burn away the cells.
After the birth of her second son Freddy in 2004, doctors found more abnormal cells. However, Jade claimed the medical professionals were against removing any more of her cervix in case it became too short to carry future pregnancies.
She had rogue cells removed three more times, but ignored a letter asking her to return for a fourth time through fear. She told Heat magazine: "When I heard I had more abnormal cells I thought, 'this is the fourth time I've been told I need to have the same operation now.
"Once you have them burnt off they shouldn't come back, I was too scared." She was rushed to hospital in 2004 and 2006 with stomach pains and heavy bleeding. She was tested for ovarian and bowel cancer, but both came back clear.
Jade became pregnant in March 2007 to boyfriend Jack Tweed, but the cancer was already growing by this point and she miscarried at 12 weeks. It would be another 14 months until she was finally diagnosed.
Jade explained to doctors she'd been losing blood for a while, but it was written off as a second miscarriage. However, Jade told Now Magazine that she knew something was seriously wrong.
She said: "The thing is the tumour was so big I had it falling out of me while I was on the loo. I had black stuff falling out of me. It was like tar. I remember being at the doctor and sobbing: 'What’s wrong with me?”’
She collapsed in August following another bout of heavy bleeding- and this was the fourth time it had happened in four years. She added: "I was doubled over in pain, losing clots of blood again. There was blood all over my bathroom and all over my stairs. I was on my own and I had to call for an ambulance. I was in too much pain to walk down the stairs.
"I’d get these really bad pains, like a really bad period pain. I’d get spasms in my la-la and my stomach. They were so severe, I couldn’t walk. I’d be too weak to stand up. Blood would just come out."
Jade was admitted to hospital and doctors tried to uncover what was causing her symptoms after she suffered three big clots. She added: "I remember being so frustrated because they tried to tell me it was a heavy period. I thought: ‘Don’t insult my intelligence.’ When they gave me food, I threw up and fell off the bed."
Jade was suffering with blood loss and pains in her leg, which are both symptoms of cervical cancer. However, doctors could not confirm what was wrong and offered Jade a smear test before she was discharged. She was granted permission by her doctor to fly to India for Bigg Boss, when she received her devastating diagnosis.
Upon her return to the UK, doctors told Jade she'd had cancer for around two years, that it was the size of a tangerine and had eaten more than half of her womb. She underwent a hysterectomy before undergoing a bout of chemotherapy - and was given a 50 per cent chance of survival.
However, the cancer soon spread to her liver, bowel and groin - and doctors told her the illness was terminal in February 2009. Jade continued to conduct interviews after the diagnosis - and Living TV released a heart-breaking documentary later that month charting her battle with cancer.
Jade tragically died from the illness on March 22 when she was aged just 27 years old, but her legacy has lived on as it prompted a surge in young women to have smear tests. It was estimated that the number of women taking the test increased by 12% following her death.
Jade was in a relationship with Jeff Brazier from 2002 - 2004 and had two sons named Bobby and Freddie. Jade wanted to ensure her children knew how much she loved them after her death - and attached a poignant final message to a photo album of her life.
She said: "Dear Bobby and Freddie - 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 my most precious memories. 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 will love you always. Mummy."
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