Written by
in
Olivia Newton-John (September 26, 1948 – August 8, 2022) was a British-born Australian singer and actress whose warm, instantly recognizable voice carried her from country-pop success in the 1970s to international superstardom. Over a career spanning five decades, she sold more than 100 million records and became one of the most popular female performers of her generation.
Her early hits included Let Me Be There, If You Love Me (Let Me Know), I Honestly Love You and Have You Never Been Mellow. Then came Grease in 1978. As Sandy opposite John Travolta, Newton-John reached an enormous new audience through Hopelessly Devoted to You, You’re the One That I Want and Summer Nights. A few years later she reinvented herself again with Physical, which spent ten weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Newton-John won four Grammy Awards and received twelve nominations during her career. She also became a prominent advocate for cancer research and wellness after her own experience with breast cancer. She died on August 8, 2022, aged 73. Today, 78 years after her birth, we remember a performer whose music and films remain part of the soundtrack of several generations.