Sylvester Stallone (or “Rocky” as he will always be known to the mega-fans) is a proud and jubilant father in the month of May for one very good reason indeed. Stallone’s eldest daughter, Sophia, whom the actor’s wife, Jennifer Flavin, claims most resembles her father, has just graduated from the University of Southern California. She studied at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and the sheer width of the smiles in the family photos are testament to Stallone’s epic fatherly pride!
Flavin, besides joking about the stunning family resemblance, also joked with Paris Match about her eldest daughter’s likeness to her father in their shared love of reading. “Like him, she has read nearly all of Shakespeare’s books,” Flavin said. “They have a very special bond, they think alike. Sophia is the love of his life.” Sophia, 22, also shares her father’s mannerisms, Flavin claimed.
Sophia, from her angle, is aware of her father’s iconic status but doesn’t take it too seriously. “For so long all these people kept saying to us, ‘Aren’t you freaking out? Your father is Rocky!’” she told The Telegraph in 2016. “But to us he’s always just been Dad.”
Sophia and her 72-year-old famous father are clearly two peas in a pod, so it’s hardly surprising that Stallone was there for his daughter’s big day. She attended her graduation ceremony in May of 2019 in a beautiful red dress, USC sash, and traditional graduation cap and gown. Stallone uploaded his favorite picture of the happy father-daughter duo to his personal Instagram account, showing himself standing beside a smiling Sophia holding up her diploma; Stallone looks in every way like the proudest papa there ever was.
“Our daughter Sophia graduates from USC!!” Stallone captioned, enthusiastically. “An absolutely amazing day for us all. So proud!!” Sophia commented right back, saying: “Love you dad!! Couldn’t have done this without you and mom!!”
The Stallone family were all present and correct, of course, including the young graduate’s two equally head-turning younger sisters Scarlet and Sistine, who have previously been described by The Telegraph as “power-punching, fast-running tomboys.” The three sisters scrub up well, however; they shared the honor of being Miss Golden Globe in 2017.
Sophia posted a few of her own favorite graduation photos on her Instagram account, and she looks amazing! “Woah, time flies by, best 4 years,” read the caption of one photo. “Only took 17 years of school ... done!” read another, showing the 22-year-old looking calm and happy in her red dress and sash, presumably off to celebrate her milestone achievement at a well-deserved graduation afterparty.
The achievements of Stallone’s beautiful children no doubt carry extra significance in recent years after the tragic loss of Stallone’s son Sage Moonblood. He passed away at just 36 years of age from heart disease. Stallone has another son, Seargeoh, aged 40, who was diagnosed with autism as a child; the stoic Stallone family are no strangers to the vastness of life’s unpredictability, that’s for sure. But they remain close and happy despite heartbreak, and moments like Sophia’s graduation are to be celebrated.
Congratulations, Sophia! You’ve made your father very, very, very (very!) proud.
Louise Chambers
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Louise Chambers is a writer, born and raised in London, England. She covers inspiring news and human interest stories.
