U.K.'s Reality TV Star Jade Goody Battles Cancer and Gets Married on Camera

LONDON, Feb. 20, 2009 — -- She is the ultimate reality TV star -- a household name in Britain and India -- who rocketed to stardom and then to infamy for her race-baiting on-camera clashes with Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty.

But now Jade Goody could be the first celebrity to die in the glare of television cameras as she battles cervical cancer while preparing to get married, on TV, of course.

Her publicist, Max Clifford, denied the death scenanio reports in an interview with ABC News, saying, "She definitely won't be dying on camera, despite what the media are saying."

Regardless of whether cameras capture her last moments, it will be a sad, and yet somewhat apt ending to the short life of a woman, who is, in the words of her publicist, a "living 'Truman Show.'"

The 27-year-old Goody first came to public attention when she participated in the U.K. reality TV show "Big Brother" in 2002.

Goody was among 10 contestants incarcerated in the "Big Brother" house until she was evicted, finishing in fourth place. Despite not winning, Goody became the show's unlikely star.

Her every antic was filmed, every comment recorded during her stint in the house: Viewers watched her make out with one of her housemates, PJ Ellis, and wonder out loud what asparagus was and if the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro was a person.

Despite her being voted off the show, Goody was already famous throughout Britain. She went on to establish a close relationship with the tabloid press, feeding it tidbits of her latest relationship, her battles with weight gain and tales of her nightmarish childhood reportedly in exchange for ever-increasing fees.

She released exercise DVDs, launched her own fragrance called Shh, opened a beauty salon, published an autobiography and became a reality TV staple, appearing on shows like "What Jade Did Next," "Jade's Salon" and "Just Jade."

But it was her appearance on the spinoff show "Celebrity Big Brother," in January 2007, that vaulted her back into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

On the show, Goody came to blows with Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, and what followed was a series of rows -- all captured on camera-- in which Goody repeatedly attacked Shetty's Indian origins, telling her at one point to "go back to the slums."

The reality TV star went from being idolized by millions to becoming the most-hated woman in Britain.

She apologized in public for her comments about Shetty, but to no avail. Newspaper columnists flayed her behavior, and Channel Four, the broadcaster behind "Celebrity Big Brother" received a record 45,000 complaints.

Clifford, who was not her publicist at the time, went on record saying her future looked bleak.

And it did, when the Perfume Shop -- a nationwide chain of stores -- withdrew her formerly bestselling fragrance from the shelves.

Goody's Life as a Reality TV Star

Goody, who says she suffered a difficult childhood with her heroin-addicted father in jail and a crack-smoking violent mother, went into rehab to cope with the fallout from the controversial show.

She went to India to apologize yet again for her behavior toward Shetty, and then, in August last year, she agreed to appear on "Bigg Boss", the Indian version of "Big Brother" hosted by the Bollywood star.

It was while she was on that show that Goody received a cervical cancer diagnosis from doctors in the U.K. She immediately returned home to begin treatment, and signed a deal with the British pay channel, Living TV, to document her battle with the disease.

She underwent chemotherapy as cameras filmed her losing her hair and later, deciding not to wear a headscarf. A hysterectomy followed when she learned that the cancer had spread to her womb.

This month, doctors told Goody that the treatment had failed and the cancer is terminal, having spread to her liver, bowels and groin.

Even as many in the media raised eyebrows at her decision to allow a television channel such access to her life, Goody defended her decision, saying she was only doing it to secure the future of her two sons, Bobby, 5, and Freddie, 4. The children are the product of her relationship with former reality TV star Jeff Brazier.

Goody is now engaged to 21-year-old Jack Tweed, who appeared with her on "Celebrity Big Brother" and who is currently on parole after assaulting a 16-year-old boy three years ago.

British Audience Watches Goody in Love and Health

Tweed proposed to her in London in front of the cameras and the pair will exchange vows Sunday in a televised wedding. British luxury department store Harrods gave her a designer wedding gown.

In a statement released to ABC News, Harrods owner, Mohamed Al Fayed, said, "I was very moved by Jade's plight. When I heard of her intention to get married, I wanted to give her something. So I offered her one of our beautiful wedding dresses from Harrods."

Her wedding dress will have a pouch to contain her painkillers.

In another sign of support to the ailing celebrity, Tweed, whose curfew usually starts at 7 p.m., was today offered a special dispensation from the Ministry of Justice to remain at the reception and with Jade until 3 p.m. the day after the wedding. A Ministry of Justice spokesman described the couple's circumstances as "an exceptional case."

But not everyone has been as understanding of Goody's decision to go public with her illness.

Joe Hill, co-founder of the U.K.'s second-largest gay dating site Fitlads.net shocked viewers when he posted a four-letter rant about Goody on YouTube.

Calling her a "fat media whore cow," Hill said she was using cancer "for her own financial gain." Despite an angry response from Fitlads subscribers, one of whom called the comments "a disgrace to the gay community," Hill refused to apologize.

In an e-mail to the gay news Web site, PinkNews.co.uk, Hill said, "She should die with dignity. I cannot believe the support, someone who announces their death to the highest bidder has achieved," adding, "This is vulgar in the extreme."

Clifford brushed off the comments in an interview with ABC News, saying, "There will always be people who criticize, fortunately the majority have been supportive and understanding. They understand that she needs to pay for her boys' education."

"Just last night," Clifford said, "Jade told me, 'Reality TV has been wonderful to me. … It comes naturally to me, and it gives me something to do.'"

Support for Goody is coming from some unlikely quarters. Clifford told ABC News that former nemesis Shilpa Shetty and Goody have now "become good friends. Shilpa realizes that Jade is not a racist; she just says things without understanding their implications. They spoke last night. Shilpa will meet her in a couple of weeks when she comes to London."

Well-Wishes From Prime Minister Gordon Brown

And British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told reporters Wednesday that Goody's "determination to help her family should be applauded."

Clifford confirmed that her sons still don't know that their mother is dying. "The boys know she is very ill," he said. "She is getting advice from bereavement experts on how to break it to them."

"She just wants her boys to get a really good education and have a happy, healthy life," he said.

In a Sky News online web chat, Clifford revealed that Goody had asked "three very close friends" to serve as trustees and oversee "the interest of her boys in the years ahead."

He also said that her estate will be in Tweed's name for seven years to avoid paying UK inheritance tax before it passes to her children.

One unexpected benefit of Goody publicizing her illness has been a 21 percent leap in young women gettinh cervical cancer screenings, according to Clifford. The figures have been backed by cervical cancer specialists.

"We have definitely seen an increase in uptake due to Jade Goody," Robert Music, director of the cervical cancer organization Jo's Trust told The Guardian newspaper.

"I think that in this celebrity age, many people relate to Goody. It is almost as if she has become a part of their lives, a family member."

After Goody walks down the aisle, there will be one more television interview with Piers Morgan, the former editor of The Daily Mirror, "if she's well enough," Clifford said.

Clifford confirmed that there have been "hundreds of requests for interviews," but for now, the ultimate reality TV star with only weeks left to live, is saying no.

Now, as the U.K. prepares to say goodbye to someone who is so much "a product of her age" in Clifford's words, many are wondering how Goody became so famous, when nearly every other reality TV celebrity has faded into oblivion.

In what may be her last newspaper interview, Goody reminisced about her audition for "Big Brother" seven years ago.

"It was never about trying to find fame. It was just that I could not take my life any more."