The life of Olivia Newton-John has had plenty of great highs, but it also lurked not too far off and experienced a nasty downfall.
Newton-John battled and beat breast cancer in 1992 before relapsing in 2013.
The British-born Australian died Monday at the age of 73 on his ranch in Southern California.
Newton John was born on September 26, 1948 in Cambridge, England. There, his father Brynn worked on the Enigma project in Bletchley Park during World War II.
When she was six, her family moved to Melbourne, where she attended Christ Church Grammar School and University High School.
After winning a trip to England on a television talent show, Newton-John decided to try his luck there and recorded and released his first single for Decca in 1966.
International success eluded her until her first solo album in 1971.
From there, a string of hits, including Let Me Be There, her signature I Honesty Love You and 1981’s Physical, topped the US charts for ten consecutive weeks.
During her lifetime, Newton-John won four Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, numerous Country Music Awards, an American Music Award, and a People’s Choice Award.
Olivia Newton-John played opposite John Travolta in 1978’s Grease. credit: Rights Managed/Mary Evans
Her acting career began in 1978. That’s when the world fell in love with her as sweet Sandy her Olson in the movie musical Grease with John her Travolta.
The singer has kept her head high through the mysterious disappearance of her boyfriend of nine years, Patrick McDermott, who was believed to have drowned off the coast of California in 2005, before he faked his death and hid in Mexico in 2009. There is evidence suggesting that
Despite severe interruptions in her personal life, Newton-John has always bounced back, turning tragedy into a positive force with philanthropic causes and causes ranging from cancer research to the environment.
In 1991, when his daughter, Chloe, lost his best friend, Colette Chudah, to cancer, Newton-John turned the tragedy into a cause to help others.
Newton-John helped found the Colette Chuda Environmental Fund in the United States, helped found the Planet Ark organization in Australia in 1993, and served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme.
She also actively supported Melbourne’s Austin Hospital, built the Olivia Newton John Cancer Wellness and Research Center, and promoted the LIV-KIT device for breast cancer detection.
John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John performed together at the 2020 Fire Fight Australia bushfire relief concert in Sydney. sauce: AAP / Joel Caret
She has received many honors, including being appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (OA) in 2006.
This follows her Honor of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) awarded to her by Queen Elizabeth in 1979.
In 2012, the National Trust of Australia designated her as a Living National Treasure.
The Australian entertainer is survived by her husband John Easterling and daughter Chloe Rattanzi. sauce: AAP / David Crossling
One of Newton-John’s most recent awards took place at the G’day LA Ball in Hollywood in 2006, when he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Travolta.
Travolta admired how Newton-John survived the ups and downs of her life.
“We’ve been friends for 28 or 29 years, and we’ve always been there for each other, no matter what,” Travolta said.
In May 2017, the singer announced that she was canceling her tour due to a recurrence of breast cancer that had metastasized to her back and would be undergoing treatment at a cancer center named after herself in Melbourne.
Newton-John was twice married to actor Matt Rattanzi after they met on the set of Xanadu in 1984.
The couple divorced in 1995, and in 2008 Newton-John secretly married John Easterling, founder of the natural remedy company Amazon Herbs Company.
She is survived by Mr. Easterling and her daughter, singer and actress Chloe Rattanzi.
