The world is mourning today the passing away of pop music icon Olivia Newton-John.
In a statement posted early on Tuesday on social media, Newton-John’s husband John Easterling said his wife had “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,” the statement said.
The star of the hit musical Grease died after a lengthy battle with breast cancer, which she was first diagnosed with in 1992.
On her official Facebook page, Easterling described his wife as a “symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer”.
“Her healing inspiration and pioneering experience with plant medicine continues with the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, dedicated to researching plant medicine and cancer,” he wrote.
Tributes are pouring in for the global superstar, including former Grease co-star, John Travolta. On his social media, the 68-year old wrote:
“My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better. Your impact was incredible. I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the first moment I saw you and forever! Your Danny, your John!
Grease director Randal Kleiser, expressed his sadness in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter:
“I’m Heartbroken. She was one of a kind, and so very kind. For over four decades of our friendship, she exuded nothing but love to everyone she met. Olivia was exactly the way you imagined her. I will miss her forever.”
Actress Gabrielle Union wrote on her social media:
“Grease” is my #1 movie of all time and made me a lifelong Olivia Newton John fan. Me and my sister watched Xanadu more times than I could count. Sending so much love and prayers to a real gift of a woman and talent.”
Hollywood actress Viola Davis said Newton-John was her childhood: “Your talent, poise, beauty!! Rest in glorious peace. God bless your family….and thank you for creating eternal memories.”
Acting Prime Minister Richard Miles told the ABC that = today is a “really sad day for Australia”.
“I think for people of my generation who grew up with Grease … it’s one of these moments when you feel like an era has come to an end, and the world is a little emptier,” he said. “But, we all grew up watching Olivia Newton-John, and it’s hard to imagine that she’s no longer with us.”
Born on the 26 September, 1948, in Cambridge, England, to German literature professor Brin Newton-John and Irene Bron, Newton-John was the youngest of three children.
She emigrated to Melbourne with her family at the age of six, only to return as a teenager to live with her mother after her parents split.
She began performing as a teenager, becoming a regular on local television shows in Australia including Time for Terry and The Happy Show.
In 1966, at the age of 18, she recorded her first single, Till You Say You’ll Be Mine, in the UK for Decca Records.
Five years later, she released her first solo album, If Not For You. In 1974, she represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Long Live Love”, coming fourth place.
Moving to the US, Newton-John went on to amass ten No. 1 singles including seven consecutively with songs like I honestly love you, Come on Over and Don’t Stop Believin.
In 1978, her life changed when she signed up for the role of Sandy Olsson opposite John Travolta in the film adaptation of the Broadway smash hit Grease.
It became one of the most successful films of all time, and includes the famous duets Summer Nights and You’re the One That I Want — the latter selling more than 15 million copies since.
The film’s soundtrack spent 12 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1, with Newton-John becoming only the second woman in history to have two singles in the Billboard top-five simultaneously.
In 1979, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
In 1981, she released her smash hit Physical, which reached Number 1 for 10 weeks and was named Billboard’s song of the year, while also winning a Grammy for best video.
She married Matt Lattanzi in 1984, and divorced him in 1995. Within the year, she had begun dating cameraman Patrick McDermott, a relationship which came to a tragic end after he mysteriously went missing on a fishing trip in 2005.
In 2016, Newton-John told Nine’s 60 Minutes “He was lost at sea, and nobody really knows what happened.”
“It’s human to wonder. But you know, those are the things in life you have to accept and let go. Because whenever you go through difficult times, there’s always those concerns.”
In 2008, Newton-John married the founder of the Amazon Herb Company, John Easterling.
In 2002, she was admitted to the Australian Recording Industry Association Hall of Fame and in 2019, she was made a dame in the Queen’s New Year honours list, for her services to charity, cancer research and music.
At the time Newton-John said she was “extremely excited, honoured and grateful beyond words to be included with such an esteemed group of women who have received this distinguished award before me.”
Throughout her later life, she was active in numerous charitable causes, becoming a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme as well as establishing the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund — an independent charity sponsoring global research into plant medicine for cancer.
In the statement posted to her official Facebook account, her family have asked that donations be made in her memory to the Foundation.
Newton-John is survived by Easterling, daughter Chloe Lattanzi, sister Sarah Newton-John, brother Toby, her nieces and nephews Tottie, Fiona and Brett Goldsmith; Emerson, Charlie, Zac, Jeremy, Randall, and Pierz Newton-John; Jude Newton-Stock, Layla Lee; Kira and Tasha Edelstein; and Brin and Valerie Hall.