Sarah, sister of Olivia, interview
Olivia (in the center of the image) with Sarah (on her left) and Valerie, Sarah’s mother, on the left
Sarah reveals the simplicity of the actress and how she enjoyed visiting her in Galicia in 2019: “She always refused to be called her half-sister.”
WE TALKED TO the SISTER OF the STAR, SETTLED IN GALICIA FOR YEARS: “She was kind, sensitive, loving…”
In 2019, Olivia left her ranch in Santa Ynez (California) to travel to the parish of Santa María de Ferreira, belonging to the municipality of Panton (Lugo), where a year earlier her half-sister Sarah Newton-John registered in order to experience life after the maelstrom of Sydney. For a couple of years she has been working as a language editor in the publishing sector through the Upwork and Reedsy platforms.
Olivia and her second husband, businessman John Easterling (70), were delighted with their stay in the Ribeira Sacra of Lugo, popularly known as Galician ‘Mesopotamia’ and whose orography is delimited by the rivers Mino, Cabe and Sil.
Olivia’s life was like a novel. Her father, Brinley Newton-John - father of Sarah - was an officer of the service of British intelligence MI5 who participated in the Enigma project deciphering Nazi messages during the Second World War and aided in the capture of Rudolf Hess, lieutenant of Hitler. And her maternal grandfather was Max Born, Nobel laureate in quantum physics in 1954. “One of the great sadnesses of my life is not having met my grandfather,” the interpreter of Physical would confess on several occasions.
With more than 150 million copies sold (28 albums and 71 singles) and four Grammy Awards, Olivia always proved that she was too earthy to belong to the Olympians guild.
That summer of 2019 everyone enjoyed it at the O Mosteiro de Panton inn, where the actress showed great sympathy and closeness. The owners left the premises in September of that same year and in October Juan arrived as manager, who confessed to us that “I saw Olivia walking around the area, she was a very normal and ordinary person.” he was unable to serve her at the restaurant, but “if I remember that in the town there was talk that she was there and that she had fallen very much in love with the area.”
Olivia was not aware of her influence.
Her disco rhythms and those of John Travolta to the sound of You Are the One that I Want, Stayin’ Alive and Magic inspired the Pontevedra city council of Mos to open one of the first super-clubs in our country, Xanadu, in honor of the homonymous film that the interpreter featured together with Gene Kelly.
Days after her death, LOC exclusively offers the first declarations of her sister Sarah Newton-John made since her Galician retirement. “I was very moved by the effort she made to travel from California. The memory of her stay will remain inside me forever”, she points out.
Olivia already belongs to Olympus, like the idol of her parents for whom she received her name, Olivia de Havilland.
QUESTION.- For you, Olivia was…
ANSWER.- She was the kindest, most sensitive and loving sister you can imagine. She always refused to be called half sister. For her, her sister always flowed. We had the same father and different mothers. An endless memory was when she visited Los Angeles after graduating in the university at the age of 23, since for my twenty-first birthday she gave away the plane ticket.
Q.- What motivated Olivia to travel to Galicia?
A.- Olivia, her husband John and two friends visited Ferreira de Panton in July 2019 to visit me and my partner, Heather, with whom I have lived for twenty years. They wanted to see our home. We emigrated from Sydney in 2018, live near a charming little town, and have a wonderful semi-retired life. My brother Toby and his family also came from Sydney. We spent three unforgettable days. Several locals have told me that Olivia fell in love with their land. She was so impressed that she asked me to find her a property to live part of the year here.
Some time later she told me that she probably wouldn’t be travelling that much, so she scrapped the idea. At no time did she refer to her state of health. She didn’t like to talk about her illness. She was the most impressive person that I have ever met.
Q.- Places you visited?
A.- We visited the Divino Salvador de Ferreira de Panton Cistercian monastery that was inhabited by the nuns since the 12th century. We attended the celebration of a mass and lit some candles. she told us that it was a magical experience. My partner and I go to their place every week in the summer and the other church at other appointed times.
Q.- Was she a woman of simple pleasures?
A.- She did not act as a star. We enjoyed a barbecue at home in Panton, played music with friends, had dinner in town and then at the hotel. We were going to take a river cruise, but Olivia decided that she preferred to stay with the family at home. The three days went by so quickly!
Q.- On a culinary level, you liked it…
A.- In the restaurant, Livvy loved the fish and the peppers. They offered her octopus, but she amiably declined because, as she explained to me, she had once read in a book that they were most intelligent and sensitive animals. In that moment I decided that I would never eat one. She also enjoyed a good Mencia Ribeira Sacra red wine.
Q.- Did many fans come to greet you?
A.- We were in an area with a very low population density, but while we were in the restaurant a person from another table approached to ask for a photo with her. Olivia always pleased her followers. People were attentive and did not harass her.
Q.- What do you think were her greatest achievements in life?
A.- Surely her daughter Chloe, the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Center in Melbourne and the Olivia NewtonJohn Foundation Fund. And of course her marriage to John Easterling and Queen Elizabeth II appointing her a Lady of the British Empire!
Original article