A Symbol of Triumph and Hope
20sthanks to Kay
Her sunny smile, caring personality and fresh-faced beauty endeared her to the world, but last week millions were in mourning as Dame Olivia NewtonJohn finally lost her long, brave battle with breast cancer.
The British- born Australian actress, singer and philanthropist, who will be forever known for the role that catapulted her to global fame – wholesome high- school girl Sandra Dee in the 1978 box office hit Grease – was 73 when she peacefully passed away at her ranch in California, surrounded by her loved ones.
HELPING OTHERS
Announcing the heartbreaking news on Facebook, her husband, John Easterling, praised her determination to help other cancer sufferers and described her as a symbol of triumphs and hope
after her 30-year struggle with the illness, which was first diagnosed in 1992 before returning in 2013 and 2017.
Her healing inspiration and pioneering experience with plant medicine continues with the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, dedicated to researching plant medicine and cancer,
he said, requesting that donations should be made to her charity instead of buying flowers.
Three days before her death, Olivia shared one final poignant post on Instagram, a throwback photo of herself smiling in John’s arms. Her 36-year-old daughter Chloe – from her first marriage to actor Matt Lattanzi – also shared photos of her beloved mum, including sweet shots of Olivia cuddling her as a baby and one of herself as a little girl, kissing her mother’s face.
Shortly before Olivia died, Chloe posted on Instagram a picture of them together alongside the caption: I worship this woman. My mother. My best friend.
The love between mum and daughter was tangible when they spoke to hola! TV last year after joining up to release their duet of Window in the Wall, a song about unity. I’m grateful for everything I’ve experienced, and for the lifeI’ve had and she’s giv en me,
Chloe told us as she and her mum held hands. In Olivia’s memoir, Don’t Stop Believin’, which she dedicated to Chloe and published after her cancer returned for the third time, she praised her daughter for her support.
My darling Chloe has been right by my side,
she wrote. She has been taking care of me with so much love and grace. I have never been as proud of her as I am now.
Hello! has followed Olivia’s journey for over three decades since she invited us to her ranch in Australia, where our exclusive photo shoot included a rare picture with Chloe, aged three.
A few years later in 1992, she welcomed us to her ranch in Malibu after her life had taken a traumatic turn for the worse, when she discovered she had breast cancer on the day her father died of a brain tumour. She’d also lost her five- year- old goddaughter Colette to cancer – yet she showed extraordinary upbeat resilience in the face of adversity.
I don’t say: ‘Why me?’ I say: ‘Why not me?’
she said of her own diagnosis. I never felt angry that it was me – other people have suffered too.
To help others, Olivia opened a clinic, the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre in Melbourne – where she herself was admitted to undergo treatment three years ago. Selfless and giving, she donated a huge portion of her own personal fortune and raised funds wherever possible, joining fellow Aussie Dannii Minogue in 2008 for a three- week, 140- mile charity walk on the Great Wall of China.
Her efforts were recognised by the Queen, who honoured her for her services to music and charity with a Damehood in 2020.
While contending with breast cancer, Olivia faced heartache in her personal life – she divorced Chloe’s father in 1995, and her next relationship, a nine- year romance with cameraman Patrick McDermott, also ended in sorrow after he mysteriously vanished on an overnight fishing trip in June 2005.
FINDING LOVE AGAIN
However, at the age of 59 she found love again with John, founder and chairman of natural health enterprise the Amazon Herb Company. The couple, who’d know each other for 15 years, fell in love when the singer, whose interest in natural remedies began while she was fighting breast cancer, joined him on an exploratory trip to South America.
It was a magical thing,
she told hello!. Suddenly, in the peace of the jungle, away from city noise and distractions, we just knew we were meant to be together.
They married in a private spiritual Incan ceremony in the Peruvian rainforest in 2008 and sealed their love a week later in another ceremony, covered exclusively by HELLO!, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean near John’s home in Florida.
I was the happiest woman in the world,
Olivia told us. John is an extraordinary and special person, kind, sweet and loving. He has a lot of integrity and authenticity and I fell for him madly and deeply. He’s thoughtful and attentive and giving. He’s one in a million and I couldn’t be more enthralled that he is mine.
John said: We tumbled into a deep, loving relationship, like something we had been waiting for our whole lives; a coming together of two halves. I feel complete when I am with her.
But it was another John – John Travolta, who played Danny Zuko in Grease – whose on-screen chemistry with her propelled them both to stardom.
Her journey to this unique partnership began in Cambridge, where she was born. Her father Brinley was an MI5 agent who worked on the Enigma project during the war and her mother was the daughter of German Nobel laureate Max Born, who had fled the Nazis.
The family moved to Australia when Olivia was six, where her father became professor of German at the University of Melbourne.
BURGEONING TALENT
As a young girl, her passion for music led her to win a talent show, which included a trip to the UK. She went on to become the UK’s Eurovision 1974 entry with Long Live Love – coming fourth to Abba’s winning hit, Waterloo.
She then secured a series of US No. 1s, including I Honestly Love You, and was offered the part of Sandy in Grease. The smash-hit film produced three hit singles – You’re the One That I Want, Hopelessly Devoted to You and Summer Nights.
Olivia’s legendary tight black Spandex trousers and leather jacket prompted a dramatic change of image from girl-next-door to sexy vamp, and her ensuing albums, Totally Hot and Physical, became hits, too.
Following her cancer diagnosis, her priorities shifted to her humanitarian, wellness and philanthropic causes, and raising funds for her hospital and foundation.
After her death, scores of tributes poured in from all over the world from high- profile friends such as singer Delta Goodrem, Nicole Kidman, Kylie Minogue, Sir Rod Stewart and Sir Elton John.
One of the most heart wrenching of all came from her friend and Grease co-star John, who wrote on Instagram: Your impact was incredible. I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again.
Yours from the first moment I saw you and forever!
he added, signing off: Your Danny, your John!