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Brave Jade Goody’s legacy (1981-2009)

Friends and fans pay tribute as the star loses her very public struggle to live.

Reality TV star Jade Goody succumbed to cancer last week knowing she had provided for her two young sons’ futures — and that she’d lived her unconventional life exactly as she’d wanted to.

Shooting to fame with her often uncouth outbursts on the UK version of Big Brother, then spinning her notoriety into a career as a celebrity, Jade was unapologetic until the end.

“I want to be remembered for being the mouthy bird off the box. The one who irritated and entertained people in equal measure,” the 27-year-old told a British magazine before her death from cervical cancer.

“But I also want to be remembered as the girl who put up a fight and would never let herself get beaten down.”

There’s no doubt she was remembered by people from all walks of life, with tributes after her March 22 death coming from British PM Gordon Brown and American Idol host Simon Cowell. Comedian Stephen Fry described her as “a kind of Princess Di from the wrong side of the tracks”.

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