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01
On June 30, 2005, Patrick McDermott, Newton-John’s then-partner and cameraman, went missing after an overnight fishing trip out of San Pedro, California. The U.S. Coast Guard later concluded that he was likely lost at sea.
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02
She was close friends with Karen Carpenter.
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03
For the role of Sandy Olsson in Grease 1978, Newton-John insisted on a screen test because she worried about her acting skills and looking too old at age 29 to play an 18-year-old. She got the part, which had originally been meant for Susan Dey.
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04
Her father Brinley was a British intelligence officer during World War II at Bletchley Park on the Enigma Project. He interrogated high-ranking Nazi officers, including Rudolf Hess, and later became headmaster of King’s College in Cambridge before moving to Ormond College in Melbourne.
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05
She sang background vocals on John Denver’s song Fly Away.
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06
Newton-John won the very first Grammy Award in the Video of the Year category for Physical.
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07
She scored over 25 Top 40 singles, more than half of which went Top 10 on the US Billboard charts, including five #1 hits: I Honestly Love You 1974, Have You Never Been Mellow 1975, ‘You’re the One That I Want’ 1978, Magic 1980, and Physical 1981, which remained #1 for 10 weeks.
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08
While living with metastatic breast cancer, she became a spokesperson for The Liv, a heart-shaped device for self-examination of breast lumps.
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09
Her performance as Sandy Olsson in Grease 1978 is ranked #89 on Premiere magazine’s 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
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10
Her song Physical was banned by a radio station in Provo, Utah for its suggestive lyrics, but she still performed a concert in Ogden, Utah, filmed for video.
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11
She grew up in both England and Australia; her family moved to Australia when she was 5, but she returned to England after winning a talent contest in her teens.
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12
The most treasured item in her wardrobe was an opal and diamond ring that her mother left her.
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13
While recording If Not For You, her dog knocked over a microphone stand, and the noise is still audible in the song during the instrumental bridge.
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14
She underwent breast cancer surgery, declared bankruptcy, and her father died of liver cancer, all within a period.
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15
Her biggest hit Physical sold over two million copies and spent 10 consecutive weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 starting November 21, 1981.
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16
People magazine chose her as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.
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17
She never left home without her passport and lipstick.
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18
Her maternal grandfather was physicist and mathematician Max Born, who was of Jewish heritage and converted to Lutheranism. Her grandmother Hedwig was descended from Martin Luther.
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19
She underwent breast cancer surgery in 1992 and treated for recurrences in 2013 and before her death in 2022.
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20
On May 13, 2017, she canceled concerts due to sciatica; later it was revealed that the back pain was from a recurrence of breast cancer that had metastasized to her sacrum.
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21
She lived in Cambridge as a young girl, then moved to London after dropping out of University High School, and later to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s until her death.
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22
She was awarded Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire DBE in the 2020 New Years Honours list for services to charity, cancer research, and entertainment.
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23
She received an Officer of the Order of the British Empire OBE from Queen Elizabeth II in 1979, and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the ARIA Awards in 2002.
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24
She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording on August 5, 1981, at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard.
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25
On June 26, 2012, the Australian government issued a semipostal stamp to raise funds for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer & Wellness Centre Appeal.
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26
Her sister Rona Newton-John was an actress, and her brother Hugh invented the first portable iron lung. She was a first cousin of actor Max Born, and her ex-brother-in-law was Jeff Conaway, who co-starred in Grease.
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27
She loved cosmetics and always did her own make-up for photo sessions.
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28
She had one daughter, Chloe Lattanzi, born in 1986.
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29
She was awarded the Officer of the Order of Australia AO in the 2006 Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
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30
Her first husband, Matt Lattanzi, appears in Grease 2 1982.
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31
She was named after screen legend Olivia de Havilland.
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32
She represented Britain in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 with Long Live Love, coming fourth after ABBA’s Waterloo.
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33
She suffered three miscarriages during her marriage to Matt Lattanzi.
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34
She fractured her coccyx while filming the dance sequence Suddenly in Xanadu 1980.
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35
Her first hit song I Honestly Love You was featured in Jaws 1975 during the beach scene before the shark attack.
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36
At age 14, she formed a singing group called Sol Four with three classmates, performing at a coffee shop owned by her brother-in-law.
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37
In 1988, she made a television special Olivia Down Under to coincide with the Australian Bicentennial, performing with Cliff Richard in the presence of King Charles III and Princess Diana.
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38
In 2019, she and John Travolta revived their Grease characters for a Meet n Grease’ singalong in West Palm Beach, Florida, where she wore a costume honoring Sandy’s transformation.
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39
In 1975, she moved to the United States, where she was already well-established as a pop and country singer.
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40
She was awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire OBE in the 1979 Queen’s New Years Honours list.
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41
She appeared on the first official pop cover of People Weekly magazine on February 24, 1975.
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42
She appeared in a 1970s documentary with cheetah conservationist Laurie Marker, bringing domesticated cheetahs from the US to Namibia.
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43
Her first single ‘Till You Say You’ll Be Mine/For Ever’ was released in 1966 on Decca Records; one review suggested she stick with being an airline hostess.
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44
After the success of Grease 1978, she was considered for the lead in a film version of Evita and had recorded ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina’ on her 1977 album Making a Good Thing Better.
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45
In 1992, she returned to New South Wales, Australia to recuperate after battling breast cancer.
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46
She passed away on August 8, 2022, the 42nd anniversary of the film premiere of Grease on August 8, 1980.
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47
Her well-known songs include If Not for You, Let Me Be There, I Honestly Love You, Heart Attack, Have You Never Been Mellow, Summer Nights, ‘You’re The One That I Want’, Hopelessly Devoted to You, Magic, Xanadu, Physical, and Twist of Fate.
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48
Her paternal grandparents were Welsh; her maternal grandfather was German Jewish physicist Max Born, and her maternal grandmother Hedwig Ehrenberg was of German Jewish descent. Via her maternal grandmother’s father, she was a third cousin of British comedian Ben Elton.
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49
She co-wrote the screenplay The Perfect Specimen with Nancy Chuda, which was optioned by Universal but later canceled when John Hughes made ‘She’s Having a Baby’ 1988.
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50
VH1 ranked her #95 on their list of 100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll.
