Status: 08/08/2022 10:02 p.m
Actress and singer Olivia Newton-John has died at the age of 73. The four-time Grammy winner celebrated her greatest success with the musical “Grease”.
Australian actress and singer Olivia Newton-John, best known for her starring role in the musical Grease, has died. This was announced by her husband John Easterling in a statement shared on Instagram and Facebook. She “died peacefully at her ranch in Southern California,” the statement said. Newton-John was 73 years old. Her family and friends were with her.
Newton-John had battled cancer for decades. “Olivia has been a symbol of victory and hope for more than 30 years as she shared her journey with breast cancer,” it said on Instagram.
Mourning for Sandy – Olivia Newton-John died at the age of 73
Torben Börgers, ARD Washington, daily news at 11:50 p.m., August 9, 2022
World famous as Sandy in “Grease”
It’s been over 40 years since she caused a sensation with her performance in the hit film musical “Grease”. As Sandy, she turned John Travolta’s head in the role of the rebellious Danny in 1978. Years before she sang songs like “You’re The One That I Want” in “Grease” with a ponytail, petty coat and Travolta in a duet, Newton-John was a star.
Born in Cambridge, England, the granddaughter of the German Nobel Prize winner in physics, Max Born, and the daughter of a college president who emigrated to Australia, founded a girls’ band as a schoolgirl. A talent competition brought the 15-year-old back to Great Britain. In 1966 she recorded her first record there.
She starred opposite John Travolta in the hit musical Grease (1978).
With cuddly songs, she made a name for herself, especially in the USA. 1974’s “Let Me Be There” was her first US hit. Songs like “On The Banks Of Ohio”, “If You Love Me Let Me Know”, “I Honestly Love You” and “Have You Never Been Mellow” made her a pop queen there.
After “Grease” she was back in front of the camera in 1980, for the fantasy musical “Xanadu” on roller skates to disco suits with the hit songs “Xanadu”, “Magic” and “Suddenly”. A year later, Newton-John released their most successful album “Physical”.
Her daughter from her marriage to dancer Matt Lattanzi was just six years old when Newton-John was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992. She canceled tours and temporarily moved to Australia from her adopted home of California. The marriage broke up in 1995. In 2008 she married John Easterling. At her ranch in Santa Barbara, Newton-John championed the medicinal use of cannabis.