LONDON, England (CNN) -- Thousands of mourners and well-wishers gathered Saturday at a church east of London for the funeral of controversial reality TV star Jade Goody.
Goody's husband Jack Tweed and mother Jackiey Budden leave the family home Saturday.
The 27-year-old lost a public battle with cervical cancer last month, prompting sympathy and headlines around the world.
As Goody's white coffin was carried into the church at Buckhurst Hill, Essex, east of London, a gospel choir began singing "Amazing Grace." Pallbearers included her husband Jack Tweed, who she married in February.
Inside the church the congregation heard a reading from Tweed as well as watching a multimedia tribute to Goody's life.
Outside thousands of well-wishers gathered in the spring sunshine to watch the funeral service on large TV screens.
Flowers thrown by well-wishers covered the hood of the vintage hearse carrying Goody's coffin as it arrived at the church. Send your tributes to Jade Goody.
Crowds earlier applauded as the cortege slowly made its way through Bermondsey, south London, where Goody grew up amid deprivation and drug abuse. At one point the procession stopped to release a white dove.
Wreaths included one in the shape of a pink heart, another that resembled a blue handbag and another shaped like a camera -- reflecting Goody's love of the limelight.
The cortege then headed for Goody's recent home in an upmarket part of Essex before heading for the church.
Goody had burst into the spotlight in the British version of "Big Brother" in 2002 but attracted global notoriety five years later when she made racist comments -- for which she later apologized -- to Indian actress Shilpa Shetty.
Well-wisher Vicky Scott, a security consultant from Bedfordshire, central England, waiting outside the church, told CNN: "She had very much to live for and she had achieved so much. She had a tough life and she gave us so much."
"I think she was an inspiration to many women, the way she brought cervical cancer to many women's minds."
Max Clifford, Goody's publicist, said in comments reported by the Press Association, that she would have been delighted by the reaction from the public.
"It is very much the way she wanted it," said Clifford. "In life she loved being loved and it is pretty clear that this is the overwhelming feeling today. She will have a big smile on her face when she sees what is going on today."
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He added, the agency said, that Goody's mother Jackiey Budden was "distraught" and Tweed was "heartbroken."
Goody's two sons, Bobby, 5, and Freddie, 4, are not expected to attend the service, the Press Association reported. They are believed to have gone to Australia with their father, TV host Jeff Brazier.
Medical officials have reported a big rise in the number of screenings for cervical cancer after Goody's diagnosis was announced live on India's version of "Big Brother" last August, a phenomenon some have dubbed the "Jade Goody effect."
Images of her shrinking frame and bald head dominated the pages of British media after she announced she had just weeks to live.
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown had previously praised Goody's work in raising awareness of cervical cancer. "In many years to come, there will be an awful lot of women who've got an awful lot to thank Jade Goody for," he said.
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Despite her weakening state Goody continued to open her door to the media, saying she needed to keep selling her story to help secure the future of her sons.
With Clifford's help, she organized her wedding to boyfriend Tweed, who had only just been released from prison after serving a sentence for assault, selling the exclusive rights to OK! magazine for a reported $970,000. It was also filmed for her reality TV show.
Clifford said Goody would be remembered as someone who "had a very, very difficult childhood, but got on and (had) taken hold of every opportunity and made it work for her, in very much her own way."
"She died knowing that she had touched a lot of hearts and minds across the world," Clifford told CNN.
He said Goody had loved her time in the spotlight. "I think they've (she and the media) exploited each other. Both have benefited. In Jade's own words, she's loved the last seven years. They've been wonderful. All the people's she's met, all the things she's done."
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