British Australian pop star Olivia Newton-John who dominated the pop culture of an era, died after repeated treatments for cancer at the age of 73, as announced by her family on Monday.
John Easterling in a Facebook post announced, “Dame Olivia Newton-John passed away peacefully at her Ranch in southern California this morning, surrounded by family and friends, we ask that everyone please respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time.”
Olivia Newton-John was a British-Australian singer, actress, and activist. From the second part of the 20th century until the present, Olivia was one of the best-selling musicians and a four-time Grammy Award winner.
She achieved success in the music industry with songs like If You Love Me, Let Me Know (1974), and Have You Never Been Mellow (1975). The Recording Industry Association of America has awarded gold certification to 11 of her singles and a total of 14 of her albums (RIAA).
Born on 26 September 1948 in Cambridge, England, Olivia formed an all-girl group which unfortunately didn’t give any chartbusters. After the band disbanded, she released her first solo album “If Not For You,” in which Bob Dylan wrote the title track. The track became her first international hit.
Olivia’s career reached new heights after she appeared in the 1978 film Grease. Olivia was hesitant to play a high school senior but agreed to a screen test with John Travolta and eventually took on the part of Sandy Olsson (Olivia was 28 years old at the time of the filming of Grease). The biggest box office success of 1978 was Grease.
Olivia Newton-John, the singer and “Grease” actress who passed away on Monday in the United States, will be remembered by the Sydney Opera House turning pink on Wednesday.
In honor of the musician, Australian sites such as Optus Stadium in Perth and Flinders Street train station in Melbourne lit up pink on Tuesday night.
Newton-John battled breast cancer twice, in the early 1990s and another in 2017. She stated in September 2018 that she was battling cancer again, this time near the base of her spine.
On the website for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre, which opened in Melbourne in 2012, she stated, “I think that when you go through anything unpleasant, especially something as dramatic as cancer, that something great will come out of it.”
Newton-“generous John’s support and contribution offered hope and altered the lives of thousands of cancer sufferers,” the group stated in a statement following her passing.
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