Star Appeal - Woman's Day

Star Appeal

Olivia Newton-John played sweet 16 at the age of 29 in Grease, and no-one batted an eyelid. Now, more than 20 years later and despite personal traumas, including divorce and a battle with breast cancer, her beauty still shines. I'm happy, says the Aussie star. And I think being happy keeps you looking young.

Exercise & Diet

For the woman who sang the aerobic anthem Physical, exercise now mostly means meditation and morning beach runs. The only weights I lift are my dogs, says Olivia, who also plays tennis and goes hiking in the hills near Malibu with her fiancé, cameraman Patrick McDermott.

She credits an East-West combination of surgery, chemotherapy, yoga, acupuncture and herbs for her recovery from cancer. The most important thing is that you have to believe you'll be well. I want women to know that cancer is not necessarily a death sentence.

Though she tries to stick to a diet of mainly tofu, veggies and rice, Olivia has relaxed her eating habits I think if you're fanatical you don't enjoy life, she says. I eat red meat on occasion if my body tells me I need it. When she needs a recharge, Olivia goes to The Chopra Centre For Well Being, owned by celebrity Ayurvedic doctor Deepak Chopra, where the focus is on healing.

Beauty

In 1998, at 50, Olivia found herself among Hollywood's beauties in People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People issue.

I thought there was some kind of mistake at first, she says, smiling. But I am very flattered, if a little embarrassed.

At 52, she has a few tiny lines around her eyes, but her complexion is still flawless. She credits this to good nutrition, vitamins and eye cream. Olivia also washes her face with soap twice a day. No matter how tired I am, or how late it is. I always wash my face before going to bed.

Her hip hair-do is by her longtime stylist, Domingo, of the Beverly Hills salon Estetica. Otherwise, it's just good genes, she says. My mum [Irene, age 87, below with Olivia) still looks good.

Wardrobe

Sophisticated and stylish today, Olivia's a big fan of Armani. But her main claim to fashion fame is her influence on a whole generation of singers, models and actresses, including the likes of Kylie Minogue, thanks to her Sandy bad-girl outfit-all tight black spandex and high-heeled sandals.

But although that paved the way to Olivia's super-sexy makeover in the early 1980s, it was never truly the real Olivia. Grease gave me a chance to break out of my country-girl-next-door thing, she says. But I never really felt the sexy image was me. I look at the picture on Soul Kiss and wonder who that is.