“Dame Olivia Newton-John (73) passed away peacefully at her Ranch in Southern California this morning, surrounded by family and friends. We ask that everyone please respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time“.
With these words, Olivia’s husband John Easterling announced her death via social media on August 8.
Born in Cambridge in September 1948, when she was 6, Olivia moved to Australia with her family where she developed an energetic passion for music. She formed her first group at 14 and performed on local radio and TV shows in Melbourne.
Her talent and beauty allowed her to win several music contests and travel to perform in the UK and US. The huge success thought, came with “Grease” in 1978, where she got the role of Sandy, a good girl who falls in love with a bad boy, interpreted by John Travolta.
Olivia Newton-John sang some of the biggest hits of the 70s and 80s, she produced four records that sold more than 2 million copies each, and seven of her songs reached the Top 10 hits on Billboard’s Country Chart.
But more than a music icon and a film legend, she was a tireless activist, who promoted cancer research for her whole life, also creating the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund. In 1992, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, battling it for years, apparently with success until 2017, when she announced the terrible disease had returned and spread.
The image of Olivia singing and dancing in what is, for many, the best musical of all times, will last forever, generations over generations; just like the positive attitude, she faced her cancer with, sending an indelible message and giving hope to all the people that found themselves in the same position.
#Love.Peace.OliviaNewtonJohn
