Jade Goody, who died on Sunday, was open about wanting to publicise her cervical cancer battle to make as much money as possible for her sons.
In the months leading up to her death, the Big Brother star Goody gave the media unprecedented access to her private life and hired publicist Max Clifford to make sure every step of her struggle was played out in front of the nation.
Goody said the multi-million pound deals she struck with OK! Magazine and LivingTV would provide for her sons' education and raise awareness of the disease.
But the decision to expose her private final weeks to such intense public scrutiny led to accusations of bad taste, voyeurism and exploitation.
Her every move saw her followed by TV cameras and tabloid newspapers, leading some to draw comparisons with the film The Truman Show, in which Jim Carrey plays a man who discovers his entire life is filmed for television.
Last week OK Magazine published its official tribute issue to Goody featuring her 'last words' four days before her death, a move criticised by the mother of Goody's husband Jack Tweed.
While many have expressed sympathy for Goody's plight and her courage in trying to raise awareness of cervical cancer, the relentless media focus has also led to concerns about an unhealthy degree of voyeurism.
Yet Goody, who in the past was openly ridiculed for her ignorance and endless pursuit of fame in a culture dominated by celebrity, was yesterday praised for her courage by politicians, church leaders and entertainment heavyweights.
Gordon Brown, once forced to defend Britain as a country of 'tolerance' after Goody racially bullied Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty on Celebrity Big Brother, said she would be "remembered fondly" as a "courageous woman" admired by the whole country.
From the moment Goody was diagnosed with terminal cancer her life was beamed around the globe like a soap opera. Clifford set up dozens of photo opportunities as the mother-of-two was moved between hospital and her Essex home, too exhausted to stand up and clearly in pain.
But Goody's decision to become the first reality television star to die as she lived, in the media spotlight, led to criticism that standards had fallen to a new low.
The boys, Bobby, five, and Freddy, four, will be cared for by their father, television present Jeff Brazier.
Jade sought to shield them from the pain of her death, instructing her mother Jackiey Budden not to let them see her pass away.
But she died in the knowledge that through her endeavours, she had created the safe and secure life for them that she never had.
The daughter of a heroin addict father who was widely ridiculed for her uneducated blunders in the Big Brother house, she once said: "I've always wanted my family to have what I never could, no matter what it might cost.
"I wanted to get Bobby into a private school. It costs over two grand a term, but I was willing to put all my savings into giving my kids a good education.
"I will never forget his first day. It was so sweet seeing him in that uniform. I took Bobby into the classroom and could hardly hold back the tears.
"He sat down in his little chair and looked at me and said softly, 'You can go now, Mum. Don't cry. I'm going to be all right here'. I love the joys of being a mum."
After her death was announced early Sunday morning, hundreds of people arrived at her home in Essex to leave flowers and cards.
The dental nurse from humble origins rose to prominence on the third series of Big Brother by revealing a startling lack of general knowledge.
Questions such as "Rio de Janeiro, ain't that a person?" and "What's asparagus? Do you grow it" saw her derided in the press.
After the show ended she kept herself in the public eye, offering up every aspect of her life for public inspection through newspapers and magazines and a series of fly on the wall documentaries.
But in 2007 she was accused of racism and bullying towards Shetty, referring to her as 'Shilpa Poppadom' on Celebrity Big Brother.
A tearful apology, again in front of the cameras, won back fans and she appeared on the Indian version of the show, where she was publicly diagnosed with cancer last August.
Reflecting on how she wanted people to remember her in her final interview with OK! Magazine, Goody said: "As the girl who put up a fight and would never let herself get beaten down."
23 Mar 2009
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