Olivia Newton-John, the Australian singer with the honeyed voice who became a country-pop, folk-pop, rock-pop, and disco-pop sensation in the 1970s, who starred in the blockbuster musical “Grease,” and who gained notoriety for her massively successful 1981 album “Physical,” passed away on August 8 at her ranch in Southern California. She was 73.
The stunning beauty and kind demeanor of the singer and actress made her a treat to watch at all times.
Newton-John was born in Cambridge, England, on September 26, 1948, but her family relocated to Melbourne, Australia, when she was six years old.
She earned the hearts of millions of people worldwide when she played Sandy with actor John Travolta in the movie “Grease.” She sang the grand finale duet “You’re the one that I want” with John Travolta, who played Danny Zuko, and it went on to become one of the all-time best-selling songs.
Grease became a big blockbuster due to Olivia’spower; it was the top earning movie of the year and held the record for highest grossing movie musical for decades.
”I don’t think anyone could have imagined a movie would go on almost 40 years and would still be popular and people would still be talking to me about it all the time and loving it. It’s just one of those movies.
I’m very lucky to have been a part of it. It’s given so many people pleasure.”
She was propelled to new levels of celebrity after her performance in “Grease,” which she had never experienced before. With over 100 million albums sold, she is one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
Newton-John continued to act in films, notably Two of a Kind, in which she co-starred with Travolta. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and won four Grammy awards as a result of her singing career.
However, the actress’s life had to slow down once she was given the news that she had stage 4 breast cancer. She was diagnosed with cancer for the first time in 1992, and then again in 2013. After receiving treatment, she made a full recovery and started supporting breast cancer research.
However, she learned that her disease had reached her bones in 2017.
The singer kept her optimistic attitude and persevered in advocating research despite her fight with the illness. She courageously battled the illness and went nearly 25 years in remission until the cancer returned for a third time.
“I’m so lucky that I’ve been through this three times and I’m still here. I’m living with it. It’s just reinforced my gratitude,” she told 60 Minutes Australia.
“We know we’re gonna die at some point, and we don’t know when it is. When you’re given a cancer diagnosis or a scary honest diagnosis, you’re suddenly given a possibility of a time limit,” she explained. “So every day is a gift.”
Her health suffered significantly the third time cancer returned since she was older. This implied that she largely avoided the spotlight and only sometimes made public appearances.
In 2019, the veteran actress made three exclusive sing-along appearances in Florida right before Christmas alongside her Grease co-star John Travolta.
For the first time since the legendary 1978 film Grease, Newton-John and Travolta made an appearance together. They even wore their Grease costumes for the performances.
After Grease’s initial premiere more than 40 years ago, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John returned as Danny and Sandy.
“First time in costume since we made the movie,” Newton-John captioned a photo on her Instagram and added: “So excited!!”
In 2017, following another performance of Grease, Newton-John told reporters that she doesn’t think about her illness very much.
“Life is a gift and I’ve had an amazing life and I intend to keep going with it and I want to help other people with cancer of course,” she told People.
“Olivia is a survivor and she’s smart and she’s got a lot of life in her and I think she looks at it from the glass half full always and that’s her beautiful, natural approach towards life and I think we all need to do that,” Travolta added.
As a result, Travolta was unavoidably among the first famous people to pay respect to the late singer and actress once word of her passing spread.
With a moving message, John Travolta shared a photo of the celebrity from her earlier years.. He wrote, “My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better.
Your impact was incredible. I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the first moment I saw you and forever!”
Olivia Newton-John never allowed her struggles with illness to break her spirit throughout the years.
“If you think positive thoughts, you’ll create a positive world around yourself and attract positive people to you,” the British-Australian actress said.
Olivia was honest about her health journey, and her husband John Easterling, an American businessman and environmentalist, always had her back. They began dating in 2006, and they married in 2008.
“I’m very lucky I have a wonderful, beautiful husband who is just so loving and fantastic,” she told People in 2016 and continued:
”I always tell my friends you’re never too old to find love. I found the love of my life at 59 going on 60! I’m grateful.”
To raise money for medical care and cancer treatments, they jointly established the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund.
“Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer,” her husband John Easterling wrote when she passed.
Last photos
The final time anyone saw Olivia Newton-John speaking was when she uploaded a holiday greeting for her admirers on Christmas Day 2021.
“I want to thank you all for all of your support over the years and I wish you all the best and send you love and light,” she had said.
Her last appearance on television was on the program Dancing With The Stars in October 2021, when the program was filming a Grease-themed episode to honor the iconic musical movie.
She emerged on screen with a recorded video greeting, wishing the competitors luck as they paid homage to the famous movie she co-starred in with John Travolta.
“I’m so thrilled and honored that you’re celebrating Grease tonight! I know your couples have been working really hard and I can’t wait to see their performances!” she said in the message.
Her Instagram has just recently been updated with old photos of herself taken at various stages in her life. Given that the actress’s health had been deteriorating, it makes sense that she has not posted any current pictures of herself.
On April 18, 2022, earlier this year, the actress uploaded the most recent image of herself, to to the joy of admirers around.
The warmth the actress radiates in the photo genuinely speaks about who she was as a person—talented and full of love for everyone and everything around her.
She also posted a farewell, tragic snapshot with her husband John three days before she passed away.
Her husband reportedly added that the actress’s final wish was for contributions to be made to the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund “in place of flowers,”.
Olivia Newton-John passed away only days before the premiere of “Rise of the Pink Ladies,” a television series that was intended to be a prequel to Grease. The upcoming series will be a musical as well.
Millions of people throughout the world were huge admirers of Olivia Newton-John, as were her on-screen partners, peers, and other professionals.
Everyone who knew her and whose life she impacted will undoubtedly miss her. Rest in peace.
Her brilliance is unique to this generation. We’ll remember you just as you appear in that final photo—happy and smiling.