Anyone who thinks of Olivia Newton-John (1948-2022) primarily speaks of "Grease". Even now, after she died at the age of 73, the main focus is on the 1978 musical cult film. The singer and actress was already a star, one of the most successful artists of the 1979s. And in the early '80s she continued.
Olivia Newton-John was born on September 26, 1948 in Cambridge to a German mother and an English German teacher. No wonder that she was later able to sing a German version of her hit "Banks of the Ohio" almost without an accent.
When Olivia was six her family moved to Australia. There she founded her first band at school. She made her first appearances on Australian television and won a talent competition. The prize: a trip to England. There she signed her first record deal in 1966.
But it wasn't until the '70s that her singing career really took off. Her version of Bob Dylan's (81) "If Not for You" stormed the British singles chart in 1971. "Banks of the Ohio" was also a success in Germany in the same year.
The breakthrough in the USA followed in 1973. She has received multiple awards for country music at the American Music Awards. Even if she was viewed with suspicion in the scene as an Australian with British roots.
In 1974 she represented her native country in the Eurovision Song Contest. "Long Live Love" landed at number four in the year of the ABBA win.
Then came Grease. The musical homage to the 1950s made Newton-John a megastar alongside John Travolta (68). The soundtrack album sold nearly 30 million copies worldwide. This made Olivia Newton-John one of the most successful artists of the 1970s. In total, she sold more than 100 million records.
A year later, the Queen made the singer an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. In 2020, she was promoted to lady, the female counterpart of knighthood.
In 1980, "Xanadu" was to follow the success of "Grease". But the musical film with Gene Kelly (1912-1996) and the music of the Electric Light Orchestra flopped. Newton-John was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress. After all, the soundtrack album sold well.
Then in 1982 the big hit again. Her song "Physical" was number one in the US charts for ten weeks in 1981/82. No other single managed to do that in the 80s. Despite (or maybe because of) the boycotts of some radio stations because of explicit content. In 2022, Billboard magazine voted "Physical" the sexiest song of all time. The singer, previously marketed as the good girl next door, showed a new facet.
From the mid-1980s, things got a little quieter around Olivia Newton-John. She was married to dancer Matt Lattanzi (63) from 1984 to 1995, and their daughter Chloe was born in 1986. In 2008 she gave her vows to her second husband John Easterling.
In 1992, Newton-John was diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time. She made the fight against the disease public in a book in 1994. From 1998 she recorded regular albums and went on tour again. But the great success did not come. In 2017 the cancer came back. On August 8, 2022, she closed her eyes forever with her family.
