“Dame Olivia Newton-John passed away peacefully at her ranch in Southern California this morning, surrounded by family and friends. We ask that everyone respect the family’s privacy at this very difficult time,” her husband John Easterling wrote in a statement on the singer’s verified Instagram account. “Olivia has been a symbol of triumph and hope for over 30 years, sharing her journey with breast cancer.”
The singer revealed in September 2018 that she was undergoing treatment for cancer at the base of her spine. It was her third cancer diagnosis after bouts with breast cancer in the early 1990s and in 2017.
Thanks to a string of country and soft-rock hits, Newton-John was already a popular singer in the late 1970s. But her co-starring role with John Travolta in 1978’s Grease, perhaps the most popular movie musical of all time, catapulted her to a new level of stardom.
Despite having little acting experience (and turning 29 during filming), Newton-John gave an indelible performance as Sandy, a soft-spoken Australian transfer student who romances Travolta’s alpha Danny at a Southern California high school in the 1950s years.
Their onscreen chemistry as mismatched lovebirds who undergo final-act makeovers to win each other’s hearts—she ditches her kitschy frocks for heels, leather, spandex, and a cigarette—anchors the film and inspires repeat viewings from legions of fans.
“I don’t think anyone could have imagined that a movie would last almost 40 years and still be popular and people would still talk to me about it all the time and love it,” Newton-John told CNN in 2017. It’s just one of those movies. I am very lucky to have been a part of it. It brought pleasure to so many people.”
Newton-John sang three of the film’s biggest hits: the duets “You’re The One That I Want” and “Summer Nights” with Travolta, as well as her hopeless solo ballad “Hopelessly Devoted To You.”
Born in Cambridge, England in 1948, Newton-John moved with her family to Melbourne, Australia when she was five. After winning a talent competition on the TV show Sing, Sing, Sing, she formed an all-girl band as a teenager and began appearing on weekly pop music programs in Australia.
Newton-John recorded her first single in England in 1966 and scored several international hits, but she remained largely unknown to US audiences until 1973, when “Let Me Be There” became an adult top 10 hit. , and for country charts.
A string of easy-listening No. 1 hits followed, including “I Honestly Love You,” “Have You Never Been Mellow” and “Please Mr. Please.”
Then came “Grease,” which was the highest-grossing film of 1978 and became an enduring cultural phenomenon.
The film gave Newton-John an opportunity to change his squeaky clean image. The cover art for her next album, Totally Hot, featured the singer in black leather, while his songs had an edgier, more contemporary pop sound.
Her singing success
In 1981, she took her new, sexier persona a step further with “Physical,” a dance number with such suggestive lyrics as, “There’s nothing to talk about unless it’s horizontal.” Banned by several radio stations, it became her biggest hit, spending 10 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
She also appeared in several more big-budget films, including the musical fantasy “Xanadu” with Hollywood legend Gene Kelly in his final screen role. The film bombed, but its soundtrack sold well and produced “Magic”, a No. 1 hit.
In 1983, she teamed up with Travolta again for “Two of a Kind,” a romantic comedy-fantasy, but failed to recapture their “Grease” spark.
During his long career, Newton-John won four Grammy Awards and sold more than 100 million albums.
“I’ve had many lives in music. I had country when I started, then I switched to pop,” she told CNN. “I had ‘Xanadu’ and ‘Grease,’ a lot of songs in between. I feel very grateful. I have such a large repertoire to choose from.’
Overcoming tragedy
But Newton-John also faced his share of problems and tragedies. Her breast cancer diagnoses forced her to postpone and cancel several tours.
And in 2005, Newton-John’s then-boyfriend, Patrick McDermott, disappeared at sea while fishing off the coast of California. He was never found – an unsolved mystery that haunted the singer for years.
“It’s very hard to live with,” she told CNN’s Larry King in 2006. “It’s probably the hardest thing I’ve ever been through, and I’ve been through a lot.” Although her profile career dimmed in her later years, Newton-John never stopped recording and performing. Among her highlights were guest appearances on “Glee,” a longtime “Summer Nights” residency at the Flamingo Las Vegas, and the dance club hit “You Have to Believe,” recorded with her daughter Chloe.
“I love to sing, it’s all I know how to do,” she told CNN in 2017. “It’s all I’ve done since I was 15, so it’s my life. I feel very grateful that I can still do it and people still come to see me.”
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