| Type: | Interview |
|---|---|
| first airdate: | October 1998 |
| broadcaster: | Lifetime |
| Production country: |
US |
| Duration: | 45 mins |
This interview first aired in October 1998 during breast cancer awareness month. It's packed full of photos of Olivia throughout her life, TV footage, and an interview with Olivia. The documentary was interspersed with quotes from her friends; from John Travolta's "She'll forever be American's and the world's number one sweetheart" to Barry Gibb's "She was by far the best female singer then, and to me she's at least one of the top 5 finest singers in the world."
Recalling her childhood Olivia remembered how she'd hated her double barrelled name and just wanted to be called Claire Smith and how difficult she'd found her parent's divorce.
Since her arrival in the United States Olivia has visited New York on numerous occasions but her first visit there was filled with unhappiness. Olivia was reduced to tears when a New York department store lady greeted her with a very gruff "What do you want?" - Olivia has since realized that this is just the way New York is! The documentary was at pains to point out that stardom has never really affected Olivia and fans will certainly agree with that. Her sister Rona remembered driving past a huge billboard with Olivia's name, advertising her mid 70s concert at the Riviera in Las Vegas. Olivia turned to Rona and asked, "Who is that person?"
With only 45 minutes there were areas of Olivia's life that Intimate Portrait hadn't time to cover. The bankruptcy of Koala Blue was briefly covered, Olivia and Pat Farrar revealed that their lawyer had advised them to have separate lawyers because they were likely to fall out with each other. However, this never happened and separate lawyers were not required. Her divorce from husband Matt Lattanzi was mentioned in relation to Chloe. Olivia told that when she'd married divorce had certainly not been the plan. She is of course sorry it happened to Chloe but as a result believes Chloe "will become an even, and I know she has, more compassionate person and an understanding one."
This program is regularly repeated on Lifetime in the US and has also aired around the world.
