A Life In The Day of Olivia Newton-John
Newton-John OBE, 70, has sold more than 100m records, including her 1978 No 1 hit You’re the One That I Want from the film Grease. Born in Cambridge, her family emigrated to Australia when she was six. After performing on talent shows, she signed her first record deal in 1966. She has a daughter, Chloe, from her first marriage, which ended in 1995. She has been married since 2008 to John Easterling, founder of the Amazon Herb Company, which sells plant-based remedies. They have homes in California and Florida.
There’s a wonderful peace and quiet to early mornings. At our house in California we have chickens, miniature horses, a cat and a dog. Sorting out the animals around 6am is my favourite part of the day. It gives me time to catch up with the real me.
I usually exercise too, but I fractured my sacrum recently. This was part of the after-effects of the breast cancer I was supposed to have left behind in 1992. I had treatment and managed to get past 10 years, then 20. You think you’ve won, but it came back in 2013 and again in 2017.
My body seems to be getting stronger. I had a walking frame for a couple of months, then a cane. I’m able to walk around and swim now. Life knocks you down, but you have to get on with it. Without adversity, you don’t realise what you’re capable of.
I stick to a healthy diet — not too much meat. I always cook breakfast for John. We’ll have waffles and eggs straight from the hen house. John knows a lot about plant medicines, and he’s introduced me to medicinal cannabis — it’s helped wean me off the morphine I was taking for the pain after the sacrum incident. Opiates kill you; cannabis doesn’t.
Although I’m semi-retired, I still do a lot of work with the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre, the hospital I set up in Melbourne in 2008. Yes, I’ve enjoyed making records and films, but the hospital gave me a purpose in life. My dream is to defeat cancer in my lifetime.
If I go out for lunch, I can guarantee that someone will mention Grease. People still love it, even after 40 years. I’m going to auction off the jacket and trousers I wore in the film later this year, raising money for the hospital.
Somebody asked recently if the Grease story is still relevant today — shy girl becomes sexy because she wants to be popular. Oh, for goodness’ sake, it’s just a movie. I mean, the car takes off at the end! I’m not saying there isn’t pressure on women to look a certain way. In this age of social media, there is a danger that women end up feeling like they need to be perfect all the time. But, as a woman, I can also choose not to buy into that. I don’t read all the rumours or look at the pictures. Why would I want to fill my days with all that negativity?
It sounds like a cliché, but positivity works. Sure, there are days when I cry, but I also laugh a lot. My husband makes me laugh. My illness makes me laugh. You have to find the humour in every situation because it takes the edge off the pain and sadness.
I’m not the greatest chef in the world, but my dog has never complained! In the evening, I cook simple food. We watch TV, but we’re not bingers. I always make time to call Chloe, who lives in Oregon. I meditate with my Buddhist friends and go to mass with my Catholic friends. I hope this doesn’t sound too glib, but I have an open mind about belief systems. Isn’t it crazy that we fight because of what we believe or how we choose to live? When I meet patients at the hospital or think about what I’ve been through, it really puts things into perspective. Can’t we just respect our differences. Wouldn’t that make life easier for everybody?
Don’t Stop Believin’ by Olivia Newton-John is out now (Simon & Schuster £20)
WORDS OF WISDOM
Best advice I was given: Don’t read your own press releases
Advice I’d give No matter what life throws at you: never give up
What I wish I’d known: That people would still ask me about the pink leggings in the Let’s Get Physical video