The True To Life Facts Of Olivia Newton-John

The singer and actress Olivia Newton-John was not new to heartbreak. From her role in Grease to her real life experiences. Although the artist made herself legendary and successful in her field of career, it slowed down at the same time when she received a breast cancer diagnosis which led to a 30-year battle with the disease. After a long fight, it took her life and she died on August 8.

Her physical presence may be no longer here, but her passing initiated a wave of tributes from fans and other celebrities, all sharing their favorite moments of Newton-John’s career. One of the best things happened in the middle of this mourning was, much attention was paid to her advocacy for breast cancer awareness and early detection. The artist provided an inspiration for women inflicted with long bouts of the illness.

As a tribute to the icon, here’s a look at several of the trying moments in Olivia Newton-John’s life.

HER COUNTRY MUSIC ACHIEVEMENTS WERE SPURNED BY THE INDUSTRY

Despite being an Aussie outsider, her music found a place among country fans. Her 1973 single “Let Me Be There” made waves, reaching No.7 on Billboard’s country chart. Her most memorable song during her country era was “If You Love Me Let Me Know,” which stayed at No.2 for two weeks. However, her foray into country music wasn’t always welcomed, especially among country purists. Some of her major awards were controversial and received massive criticism from big names in country music.

OLIVA NEWTON-JOHN DEALT WITH LEGAL BATTLES EARLY ON IN HER CAREER

At 30 years old, Olivia Newton-John went up against industry behemoth MCA records. Her manager, Lee Kramer, suggested the lull was due to MCA’s marketing problems and its inability to live up to its contract with Newton-John. MCA had also been giving away free records to wholesale companies as a form of discount without informing or compensating Newton-John. She may have won the lawsuit, but the case brought big changes to the music industry.

HER FIRST FILM AFTER ‘GREASE’ BOMBED AT THE BOX OFFICE

Many were keeping a close eye on Newton-John’s first musical feature after the success of Grease. But no one expected what actually came next: the 1980s roller-skating musical fantasy Xanadu. The film was considered such a failure that it inspired the formation of the Razzies, the Oscars equivalent for the worst films of the year, per The Hollywood Reporter. In an interview with Michael Parkinson of the BBC, Newton-John said that she stopped reading the bad reviews and compared them to the bad reviews Grease had gotten to illustrate how irrelevant they were.

OLIVA NEWTON-JOHN’S FIRST MARRIAGE ENDED IN DIVORCE

The two met on the set of the film, in which Lattanzi worked as a backup dancer, according to People. Aged 11 years apart, they were something of an odd couple. Their union brought forth a daughter, Chloe Rose, and they divorced after nearly 11 years. Sadly, the divorce came three years after Newton-John began her battle with cancer.

OLIVA NEWTON-JOHN’S FATHER DIED SHORTLY BEFORE SHE RECEIVED A CANCER DIAGNOSIS

During the time that she is preparing for a concert tour for her Back to Basics: The Essential Collection 1971-1992, she received a terrible news that her father was dying from liver cancer. That same weekend, Olivia was diagnosed with breast cancer.

SHE NEARLY LOST HER DAUGHTER DURING CHILDBIRTH

The star experienced complications during pregnancy and came dangerously close to losing her daughter. Although Newton-John didn’t elaborate on what the complications were, it was enough for her to enter a pact with God. She made a prayer, asking for her unborn daughter’s protection, and in exchange, Newton-John would recite the “Lord’s Prayer” every night for the rest of her life.

SHE BATTLED BREAST CANCER FOR NEARLY 30 YEARS

Newton-John’s first diagnosis of breast cancer in 1992 ended up being a 30-year-long battle. It was first detected after a few tests came back negative. Unable to ignore the pain in her breasts, she insisted on a surgical biopsy, which confirmed the ailment. After 20 years spent in remission, Newton-John suffered a car accident and discovered a lump on her shoulder and tests showed that it was related to cancer. After dealing with back pain and mistaking it for sciatica in 2017, she received news that she had stage 4 breast cancer that had metastasized to her sacrum.

CANCER UPENDED OLIVA NEWTON-JOHN’S SINGING CAREER

When she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she canceled her tour. In her autobiography “Don’t Stop Believin’,” Newton-John said canceling her tour was “one of the hardest things she ever had to do.”

In May 2017 her music career was hindered once again when she received another diagnosis of breast cancer. She was optimistic and only canceled the first half of her tour for its June dates and expected to be on the road again in August. True to her word, she returned in the fall and played concerts across the United States, per Concert Archives.

HER BOYFRIEND WAS LOST AS SEA — AND WAS NEVER FOUND

Perhaps one of the strangest sagas in Newton-John’s love life was the disappearance of her ex-boyfriend Patrick McDermott. In 2005, McDermott, a light technician, went on an overnight fishing trip and never returned. The singer appealed for public help, but her ex-boyfriend was never found. She still thinks about him at times, Newton-John said in an interview.

TWO OF OLIVA NEWTON-JOHN’S SIBLINGS PREDECEASED HER

In June 2013, she made a public statement, announcing her older sister’s diagnosis of brain cancer. Only a month later, Rona Newton-John died. Then, in 2019, Olivia lost her brother Hugh. He led a more private life than his sisters and worked as a clinician at Melbourne’s Fairfield Infectious Diseases hospital. Olivia shared news about his passing on social media and posted photos of him. He must have also had the musical gene because, in an obituary written by his colleagues, he was described as a “talented musician.”

SHE FELT CHEATED OUT OF ‘GREASE’ SOUNDTRACK ALBUM ROYALTIES

In 2006, they found that Universal Music Group Inc. owed them $1 million in royalties for the 1978 “Grease” soundtrack album. Universal was quick to wave away the lawsuit as meritless and requested that the case be dismissed. But the court found Universal’s argument for dismissal to be illegitimate, and Universal eventually reached a conditional settlement with Newton-John, per the San Diego Union-Tribune.

OLIVA NEWTON-JOHN LOST CLOSE FRIENDS TO CANCER

As she and her family members were dealing with cancer, she lost close friends to the disease. One that hurt deeply was the death of her best friend and wife of former co-star John Travolta, Kelly Preston. Like Newton-John, Preston was afflicted with breast cancer. She died in 2020, the same year that Newton-John witnessed the deaths of three or four other women she knew.