Everything I do now is icing on the cake
From recording a new album to setting up an eco spa, Olivia Newton-John is just bursting with energy and passion
Beautiful, talented, sexy, there’s a whole lot more to Olivia Newton-John than playing her much-loved role of Sandy in the cult film Grease.
Olivia’s mother, Irene, was the daughter of Nobel Prize winning physicist, Max Born. Her father, Professor Brin Newton-John was an academic. When he was appointed Dean of a college in Melbourne, Australia, the family emigrated from Cambridge. Olivia was just five years old then and today she has a fondness for Britain, but it’s Australia she thinks of as her real home and she loves spending time on her farm there. Her other base is her beach home in Malibu, California, where she raised her 19-year-old daughter Chloe, who launches her own solo singing career this year.
Like any proud mum, Olivia is supporting her daughter, just as her own strong-minded mother encouraged, guided, and kept her grounded. “Chloe’s voice is very rich, with a lot of depth and soul in it,” says Olivia: “That’s a good thing, because I don’t think I’d want to be growing up as a teenager, starting out in an industry like this and having to put up with always being compared to my mother.”
My illness inspired me"
After finding she had breast cancer in 1992, Olivia did consider retiring from the music business. Then, during her recovery, song lyrics kept popping into her mind, and the album entitled Gaia was conceived, reflecting on her experiences. Nine albums later, in April this year, Olivia released Indigo-Women of Song, which covers songs dating back to the 1960s performed by female artists that she’s found inspirational.
Another woman who’s had a strong influence in Olivia’s life is her mother, who died two years ago. aged 89, after a long battle with osteoporosis. It’s a loss Olivia still feels keenly, having spent a lot of time with her mum when she was ill, and been with her when she died, not long before her 90th birthday. Not only does she look like her mother, but Olivia feels she’s also inherited some of her stubbornness and passion for the causes she believes in today.
“When I take up a cause, it’s not because it’s trendy,” she explains. “It’s because it’s something I feel very deeply about”.
"It's better to know early"
While promoting her album, Olivia has taken every opportunity to highlight the need for regular breast checks for women. The product that she is promoting is a simple, hand-held device, made of soft, latex-free polyurethane, which enhances your sense of touch and your ability to feel changes during breast self-examination.
After her own experiences with breast cancer, Olivia was asked to become the public face for what’s now known as the Liv Kit. Named after her, the device was invented by an engineer whose own sister died from breast cancer in the late 80s. “I showed it to my oncologist and he thought it was wonderful,” says Olivia. “I was very keen to become involved after that and I use the kit every month as part of my own self-check routine.”
“Over the years, I’ve been amazed by the number of intelligent women who don’t self-examine. They say they’re afraid they might find something, but it’s better to know earlier. I’ve been one of the lucky ones, but with a bit of education, other women can be, too”.
“Breast cancer has been the biggest battle of my life. I will stop at nothing to protect the future health and wellbeing of young women all over the world. Part of my motivation is for my daughter, Chloe, and her friends - I don’t want her or her generation to have to worry about breast cancer.”
"I had to survive"
Olivia’s cancer was discovered after she’d found a lump and had been feeling unwell-although the biopsy results were negative, the doctor wanted more tests and these revealed the tumour. “On the day I found out I had cancer, my father died of liver cancer, says Olivia. I couldn’t go to his funeral as I had to start treatment immediately. I felt disbelief, fear, and then my survival instinct kicked in.”
Olivia had a radical modified mastectomy, which removed the tumour and affected tissue, and she had reconstructive surgery at the same time. She then underwent intensive chemotherapy for six months. “I was very afraid of it, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” she says.
"Natural health is vital"
Olivia believes it’s important to take care of mind, body and spirit. To help her fight cancer, she used complementary medicines. One of the doctors who treated me was a Sikh and he combined eastern and western medicines. Homeopathy and acupuncture helped boost my immune system and combat the effects of chemotherapy,” she says.
“I was also on a cocktail of vitamin and mineral supplements, so never really noticed the menopause, which started around the same time I was having treatment, I still take calcium and magnesium for my bones and my doctor prescribed Avista to help ward off osteoporosis, as my mother died from it.”
"Real women inspire me"
Olivia is also a fundraiser for breast cancer charities and research. It’s her soft, reassuring voice you can hear on the www.breastcancer.org website dictionary, explaining the names and definitions for everything related to the disease. In Australia, she’s formed a partnership with Melbourne’s Austin & Repatriation Medical Centre. She’s helping to raise £20 million for the Olivia Newton-Jonn Cancer Centre, which offers a range of services for treatment, education, training and research.
At fundraising shows, Olivia has met many other women who have conquered breast cancer, and it’s them, rather than high-flying celebrities, that she’s found inspirational. “I meet a lot of breast cancer survivors, and they all have a story to tell,” she says.
"Friends are precious"
Another source of inspiration for Olivia is American environmental campaigner, Margaret Owings, who has fought to protect wildlife and habitat in California. Olivia has said that if she hadn’t made it as a singer, she’d have wanted to work with animals. As it is, she does her bit for the environment and wildlife, too. She’s planted over 10,000 trees to form her own tropical rainforest in Australia.
She’ll also be encouraging visitors to her new Australian spa, Gaia, in Byron Bay, to plant trees there.
An old friend is in charge of the day-to-day running of the spa. In fact, old friends feature large in Olivia’s life. “I work to keep my friends,” she says. “I value them. Even though they’re scattered all over the world I can email or call and just say hi. I love hanging out with friends who knew me ‘back when’ and have no delusions about who I am.”
The fact that many of these friends go back three decades or more might also be seen as a testament to her. Quite simply, good mates don’t just hang around waiting for crumbs from a diva’s table!
Protect your children
It was through a childhood friend of Chloe’s, who was dying from a rare cancer, that Olivia became involved with another environmental cause - the Colette Chuda Environmental Fund/CHEC (Children’s Health Environmental Coalition). Among other issues, the campaigning group warns about household pollutants.
“Small children ingest so much more of the poisons we inadvertently bring into our homes,” says Olivia. “These include things like pesticides used in the garden, which you can track into the house on your shoes. And people who do up old houses - as I’ve loved doing - have to be really careful about lead paint.”
My 4 golden rules2
“Be true to yourself, eat well, exercise well and play well. If there is one piece of advice I’d give, it’s to keep the mind healthy and maintain a positive attitude. Find something you love doing and do it at least three or four times a week. Walking, for instance, makes you feel good. Exercise is really important, and when you walk you can look at trees and nature. Even during a hectic schedule, I’ll find a few minutes to go out in the sun or walk by a river, or, if I’ve got more time, work out on a treadmill for 30 minutes.
A good diet counts
When Olivia’s working, she takes extra care with her diet. “It was a matter of trial and error, but I’ve found I feel better without wheat when I’m working, as it doesn’t agree with my system and makes me feel bloated. I also cut out dairy when I’m due to sing, as it creates more mucus (I hate that word!), which isn’t good for the voice. I’m more relaxed about food when I’m not working and I enjoy the odd glass of wine, but I avoid it in excess as it doesn’t do your skin any good.”
Olivia’s skin is in great shape for 56. She attributes her youthful, sexy good looks to “lots of water, moisturisers -my favourite is Dr Lewin’s, which I get in Australia and having a younger boyfriend,” she laughs, tongue in cheek.
Secrets are for keeping
You won’t get any kiss and tells from Olivia, who has just returned an advance a publisher had already given her to write her autobiography. This is because she has never been keen to divulge personal matters that affect other people.
After the break-up of her nine-year marriage to Chloe’s father, actor and dancer Matt Lattanzi, in 1995, there were no public recriminations. She never ‘revealed all’ about her engagement in the early 1970s to The Shadows’ Bruce Welch, and you can’t draw her now on her cameraman boyfriend, Patrick McDermott, who she’s been with since 1996 (although she does say he’s a very nice man, they have a good relationship and she’s fulfilled).
It’s been said that Olivia was the one girl Cliff Richard fell for, but she has always dismissed the idea, saying they were, and are still, just good friends. It’s his house she’ll often stay at when she visits Britain.
"Getting older is a gift"
Cliff has admitted to cosmetic surgery, but it’s not something that tempts Olivia, “it scares me,” she says, “though never say never. On balance though, I think you grow into your face, and I like that idea as I’ve always said I want to age gracefully like my mother did.”
With a few wrinkles of maturity come other benefits of being an older woman, which, according to Olivia, include “Experience, more patience, and more humour about life. To be honest, getting older is a gift when you’ve had to face the fact that you might not get any older and could die within a year. When women friends complain about turning a certain age, I tell them to be grateful instead I know I am.”
Asked if she has any burning ambitions yet to fulfil, she thinks for a moment. “Nothing burning,” she says, “everything I do now is icing on the cake. I always think there’s nothing more I want to do, then something else comes up.”
The album
INDIGO-WOMEN OF SONG was released in the UK on 11 April. The 11 tracks include Cry Me a River, first sung by Julie London, Rainy Days, made famous by Karen Carpenter; Where have all the flowers gone by Joan Baez, and Cilla Black’s Anyone Who Had a Heart. Olivia first sang the latter aged 17, when she won a national Australian talent contest, which helped to launch her singing career.
The Liv Kit
This aid to breast self-examination costs £19.99, and is available from leading chemists and department stores in the UK. You can also order from www.figleaves.com or www. goodforhealth.com, or by calling Good For Health on 0870 225 2020