Olivia Newton-John

Olivia Newton-John
Newton-John performing in 2017
Newton-John performing in 2017
Background information
Born(1948-09-26)26 September 1948
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England
OriginMelbourne, Australia
Died8 August 2022(2022-08-08) (aged 73)
Santa Ynez Valley, California, U.S.
GenresPop, country, soft rock, adult contemporary, dance-pop
Occupation(s)Singer, actress
InstrumentsVocals
Years active1963–2022
LabelsUni, MCA, EMI, Pye, Festival
Websiteolivianewton-john.com

Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was an English and Australian singer and actress known for her gentle singing voice, her purity of tone and her perfect pitch. A four-time Grammy Award winner, Newton-John was one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with global sales of more than 120 million records.

Newton-John achieved worldwide stardom in a variety of musical genres and was especially well known for her starring role in Grease (1978), one of the most successful movie musicals of all time.

Early life

Newton-John was born in Cambridge, England. Her father was Welsh. Her mother was from Berlin, the daughter of Max Born. Newton-John is the youngest of three children. In 1954, her family moved to Australia. At age 12, she won a contest at school with girl group "Sol Four".

When she was 17 years old, she had her first appearance in a movie, Funny Things Happen Down Under (1965), where she sang "Christmas Time Down Under". Shortly after she was in a talent contest and won first prize, a trip to England. She got a record deal on Decca Records and released her first single, "Till You Say You'll Be Mine", in 1966.[1]

Career

Newton-John in 1978

Newton-John stayed in England and recorded a cover of the Bob Dylan song, "If Not For You". It was the song which first caused her to be well known. She released her first solo album, If Not For You, in 1971. In 1973, her career began to do well. In 1974, she represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 with the song "Long Live Love". She finished in 4th place, with Sweden's ABBA being the winners.

Her first successful song was "Let Me Be There". The song made the top 10 on the US pop chart.[2] It also earned her a Grammy Award for Best Country Female.[3] More successful songs followed: "If You Love Me Let Me Know," "I Honestly Love You", "Have You Never Been Mellow", "Please Mr. Please" and many more.

Her first big acting role was with John Travolta in Grease. It became the most successful movie of 1978.[4]

Personal life

Olivia lived in California for decades. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She had breast cancer in 1992, and recovered.[5] She was married twice. She has a daughter by her first husband.

She was also an activist for environmental and animal rights issues.

Death

In May 2017, it was announced that Newton-John's breast cancer had returned and metastasized to her lower back.[6][7] In August 2019, it was also reported that the cancer was at Stage IV and spread to her bones.[8]

Newton-John died from the disease at her ranch in Santa Ynez Valley, California at the age of 73.[9][10][11] The Australian state of Victoria offered a state funeral for Newton-John.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Erlewine, Michael (1997). All music guide to country: the. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-0-87930-475-1. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  2. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2006). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country ... ISBN 9780823082919. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  3. ↑ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard book of number 1 hits. Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0-8230-7677-2. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  4. ↑ "IMDb Top Box Office". IMDb.
  5. ↑ Creswell, Toby; Trenoweth, Samantha (2006). 1001 Australians You Should Know. Pluto Press Australia. ISBN 978-1-86403-361-8. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  6. ↑ "Olivia Newton-John". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  7. ↑ Nolasco, Stephanie (30 May 2017). "Olivia Newton-John postpones concert dates to fight cancer". Fox News.
  8. ↑ "Olivia Newton-John Opens Up About Living With Stage 4 Cancer". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  9. ↑ Court, Andrew (8 August 2022). "Olivia Newton-John dead: Iconic pop star and 'Grease' actress was 73". New York Post. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  10. ↑ Bernstein, Adam (8 August 2022). "Olivia Newton-John, pop singer and 'Grease' star, dies at 73". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  11. ↑ Reynolds, Dolan (8 August 2022). "Olivia Newton-John dies at 73, husband says". FOX8 WGHP. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  12. ↑ "Olivia Newton-John's family indicates it would accept state memorial for Grease star". ABC News. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.