A strange media circus is coming to an end with the death of UK celebrity Jade Goody, who succumbed to cervical cancer at the age of 27 on March 22. Goody became famous after her appearance on the reality TV show ‘Big Brother’ in 2002, earning ridicule for her seeming lack of intelligence after making comments not unlike those made by American celebrity Jessica Simpson. Goody complained of being made into an “escape goat,” and though she had spent her entire life in England, she thought that Cambridge was located in London.

She capitalized off her fame, penning an autobiography and a weekly column for Now magazine. She launched her own perfume, which went on to become one of the biggest celebrity fragrances sold by the chain Superdrug (only Kylie Minogue’s and Victoria Beckham’s sold more), until it was abruptly pulled from shelves following allegations of racism leveled at Goody.

In 2007, she appeared on ‘Celebrity Big Brother’, where she further angered the public by hurling racist remarks towards Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, who was also competing on the program. (For all the gory details on the controversy, visit this page on Wikipedia.) Goody later admitted that her comments were racist and innappropriate and apologized to Shetty, who forgave her.

The two met up again in August 2008, when Shetty was hosting India’s version of ‘Big Brother’ (a show called ‘Big Boss’) and Goody was appearing as a contestant. But on the second day of filming, Goody found out on camera that she had cancer. She left the show and returned to the UK to begin treatment.

But in February of this year, she learned that the cancer was terminal – it had spread to her liver, bowel, and groin, and she was told she had only months to live. Upon finding out, she decided to live out the rest of her life in front of the cameras, now capitalizing on her own death. She sold exclusive interviews and photographs in a bid to make sure her sons (4 and 5 years old) will be financially secure, but the media exposure sought out by Goody and her controversial publicist Max Clifford disturbed many.

On February 22, she married her boyfriend Jack Tweed, a 21-year old model facing legal troubles stemming from an incident where he assaulted a teen with a golf club. Pending sentencing for the crime, Tweed was out on curfew, and just days before their wedding, the Ministry of Justice announced they were loosening his curfew to allow him to spend evenings with his dying wife.

The rights to the wedding were sold to OK!, reportedly netting her almost £700,000. The deal also covered the rights to what she called her last public appearance, which took place on March 7 as Goody and her sons were baptized at the hospital.

Between that appearance and her death two weeks later, the public was treated to daily updates from Clifford on her condition, as well as photographs and reports from the paparazzi camped outside her Essex home of the comings and goings of family and friends. A bizarre incident occured on March 9, when a disturbed woman wielding a hammer managed to gain access to Goody’s hospital room and stood over her bedside “muttering or praying.” She was arrested and later released without charge.

In a move generating public outrage, OK! magazine published a tribute issue (which boasted of having “her final words”) while Goody was still alive.

Many speculated it was a hoax when it first appeared online, and the fact that issue had the unfortunate coincidence of being their 666th issue didn’t help matters. While OK! claimed that Goody’s family supported the tribute, other reports said Goody’s mother was “not happy” with it. She was even photographed reading the issue outside Goody’s home.

As a testament to their friendship, Goody had invited Shetty to her wedding, but she was unable to attend due to filming commitments. Shortly before Goody’s death, Shetty flew to London hoping to see her one last time, but was unable to as Goody was heavily sedated.

Goody died in the early morning hours of Mother’s Day in the UK, and tributes began pouring in from every level of celebrity.

Via the BBC:

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was “deeply saddened” by the news and described Goody as “a courageous woman both in life and death.”

Writing on Twitter, Stephen Fry called her “a kind of Princess D from the wrong side of the tracks” and made this keen observation:

Jade lived life under a magnifying glass. Magnifying glasses magnify (obviously), but they distort and they burn.

Russel Brand wrote a tribute to her on his blog, noting that he was around the same age Goody’s oldest son is when his own mother was diagnosed with cancer – she, however, survived. Even though their meeting occurred years before Goody’s diagnosis, Brand saw parallels between the two:

Most of all though I was impressed with how she formed an immediate and genuinely sweet bond with my Mother, chuckling and chatting with the effortless intimacy that strong yet tender women frequently conjure and which has umbrellad me from anxiety throughout my life.

Preparations are underway for Goody’s funeral, which is set to take place on April 4th and is predicted to receive the same level of attention as Princess Diana’s did. (One article even described her body as presently “lying in state.”) It will be open to the public (with giant TV screens broadcasting what is going on inside the church to those outside), and Goody’s mother is having her teeth fixed in preparation. Thousands are expected to pay their respects.

Tweed’s sentencing was originally scheduled to take place on Thursday of this week, sparking fears he would be unable to attend Goody’s funeral. But it was pushed back to April 16, ensuring his presence.

Despite Goody’s mother’s request for privacy to grieve, the invasive media coverage continues (partially at the hands of her family, who are still reaching out to them). Three days after her death, her husband was photographed picking her sons up from school. We’re even being treated to details of the contents of her coffin (for the record, she’ll be wearing her wedding dress, and accompanied by these photos of her and her sons). Her mother viewed the body and told the Mirror that Goody “looks like Sleeping Beauty.”

A book chroniciling her final months titled ‘Forever In My Heart’ is set to be released later this year, and there’s talk of a biographical film. But as for her final legacy, it seems to be a toss-up between the awareness her illness raised amongst young women in the UK, or the very modern way in which she died.

In an op-ed published on WalesOnline, Darren Devine explores the parallels between Princess Diana’s death and Goody’s death, proposing that the appetite for what he calls “unrestrainted public mourning” comes in waves, and that Goody is simply benefiting from such a time. TimesOnline has a piece up looking at the economics of Goody – why she was able to make the amount of money she did, and what it means.

(Related: Telegraph claims Goody’s wedding saved her sons a £1 million inheritance tax bill.)