Cancer claims 'Brother' star Goody

LONDON, March 22 (UPI) -- British reality TV star, Jade Goody, best known for her stint on "Big Brother," died Sunday of cervical cancer at the age of 27, her publicist announced.

Goody, who learned her cancer was terminal in February, died in her sleep at home in the British county of Essex, The Times of London reported.

Goody first came into the public eye in 2002 when she appeared as a contestant on Channel 4's "Big Brother 3." She later released an autobiography, fitness videos and appeared on "Celebrity Big Brother 2007."

Goody recently married her boyfriend, Jack Tweed, and underwent a christening ceremony with her sons, Freddie, 4, and Bobby, 5.

"She was a very, very brave girl," a friend of the family told The Sunday Times. "And she faced her death in the way she faced her whole life -- full on, with a lot of courage."

Goody planned her own funeral, which will include a motorcade through south London and burial at St. John the Baptist Church in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, The Sunday Times said.