Olivia Newton-John

After spending the first six years of her life in England, Newton-John’s family moved to Melbourne, Australia, where she developed her love for performing. She performed in talent shows and local TV programs before releasing her first single “Till You Say You’ll Be Mine” in 1966.

She released her first album in 1971, and her 1973 single “Let Me Be There” earned her a Grammy Award for Best Country Female, the first of four statues she received from the Recording Academy. Newton-John also represented the U.K. in the 1974 Eurovision contest, where she placed fourth.

However, it wasn’t until she played Sandy Olsson in the 1978 movie musical Grease, opposite John Travolta, that she became a household name. The songstress continued to release music and shoot TV specials before she returned to the big screen in 1980 with another movie musical, Xanadu, opposite Gene Kelly and Michael Beck. One year later, she released her multi-platinum double-album Physical, featuring the iconic titular track.

Newton-John continued making music and acting throughout her life, appearing in films such as It’s My Party (1996), Sordid Lives (2000) and Sharknado 5: Global Swarming (2017). She also appeared on TV shows including The Man from Snowy River, Sordid Lives: The Series and Glee. The legendary star even hit reality TV, dropping in as a guest judge on American Idol, RuPaul’s Drag Race and Dancing With the Stars.

The actress shared a daughter, actress and singer Chloe Lattanzi, with Matt Lattanzi, to whom she was married from 1984 to 1995. She married her second husband, John Easterling, in June 2008, and they remained together until her death in August 2022.

Newton-John’s cause of death was metastatic breast cancer. She was first diagnosed in 1992, and the disease returned in 2013 and 2017. She died at her home in California, surrounded by friends and family, at the age of 73.