LEGEND LOST: 'A BEAUTIFUL SOUL WHO EXUDED GENUINE HAPPINESS'

FOLLOWING THE NEWS OF HER TRAGIC DEATH, OK! LOOKS BACK AT THE LIFE OF ICONIC ACTRESS AND MUSICIAN OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN

- JACKIE BUTLER

Olivia Newton-John stole a million hearts and shot to global superstardom when she played Sandy in the 1978 blockbuster musical Grease, starring opposite John Travolta’s Danny. It was a defining moment in the career of the multitalented singer, actress and future charity activist.

Throughout her long and highly-respected career, Olivia proved time and again that she was no one-trick pony. Always ready to adapt and change, whatever life threw at her, she developed from young talent contest winner into one of the best-selling artists of the late 20th century.

She was honoured twice by the Queen for her creative and charitable work, accepting an OBE in 1979 and becoming a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2020.

Family, friends, colleagues and fans from all over the world have been paying tribute to Olivia following her death at the age of 73 last week. She died at home on the California ranch she shared with her husband John Easterling. In his announcement on social media, he wrote, “Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer.”

Her daughter, actress and musician Chloe Lattanzi, 36, posted a series of photos of herself and “my mother. My best friend”.

She was loved and respected by fellow artists, but of all her famous friends, it was her Grease co-star John Travolta who she shared a particularly strong bond with and the pair remained close up until her untimely death. In a tribute, John wrote, “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!”

Olivia was born the youngest of three in Cambridge, where her