Olivia Newton-John dead at age 73 after decades-long cancer battle

Olivia Newton-John, the double threat from Down Under who stole America’s heart as the good girl Sandy in “Grease,” then skyrocketed to international fame as a pop superstar, died Monday morning at age 73.

Her husband, John Easterling, said in a post to her Facebook page that she “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,” Easterling added.

Olivia Newton-John during the annual Wellness Walk and Research Run on Sept. 16, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Scott Barbour/)

No official cause of death was given, but the star battled cancer for three decades and had been very public with her most recent bout of the disease since receiving the diagnosis in May 2017.

“Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer,” Easterling said Monday. “Her healing inspiration and pioneering experience with plant medicine continues with the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund.”

Newton-John was candid about her battle with cancer.

“I’d be lying if I said I never go (down the rabbit hole of fear), there are moments, I’m human,” she told the Australian news program “Sunday Night” years ago. “So if I allow myself to go there, I could easily create a big fear, but my husband’s always there.”

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John star in the 1978 film, "Grease."

Newton-John was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, the same week her father died of cancer. Her recovery included nine months of chemotherapy, a partial mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgery.

Her first relapse came in 2013. Newton-John opted to keep her second bout private until September 2018, saying at the time that she’d been so vocal about her treatment in 1992 that she wanted to keep this battle to herself.

The four-time Grammy winner was born in Cambridge, England, in 1948, the granddaughter of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Max Born on her mother’s side. Her family moved to Melbourne, Australia, when she was in grade school.

Australian singing duo Pat Carroll, left, and Olivia Newton-John, aka Pat and Olivia, pose with a kitten in Nov. 1967. (Keystone Features/)

Newton-John started in showbiz early, singing on local radio and television shows and recording music for labels like Decca Records in the U.K.

She had a successful single in 1971, “If Not For You,” which was written by Bob Dylan and previously recorded by George Harrison.

Two years later, Newton-John had her first crossover hit with “Let Me Be There,” which marked her first Top 10 single in the U.S. and won her a Grammy for best female country vocalist.

With her singing career in full swing, Newton-John continued churning out hits like “I Honestly Love You” and “Something Better to Do,” racking up two more Grammys and one nomination.

But it was her role as the girl-next-door Sandy in “Grease” that catapulted her to international fame, as the high school-set musical became the biggest box office hit of 1978.

Jeff Conaway, Olivia Newton-John, John Travolta and Stockard Channing in "Grease," 1978.

Though Newton-John was hesitant to sign on — she was 29, and Sandy was a high school senior — the star was convinced after screen-testing opposite her on-screen love interest, a 23-year-old John Travolta.

“My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better,” Travolta said in an Instagram post Monday. “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 Newton-John and John Travolta in 2018. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/)

The role earned Newton-John two more Grammy nods, one for the movie’s platinum-selling soundtrack, and another for her yearning, poolside solo song “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” which she performed at the 1979 Oscars.

She hopped on the musical train once again in 1980 for “Xanadu,” which, despite negative reviews and a dismal box office showing, scored Newton-John yet another pop hit with “Magic.”

Just as Sandy found her inner bad girl at the end of “Grease,” so, too, did Newton-John, who shed her goody-two-shoes image as her music career headed into the ‘80s.

She cemented her place in pop star lore with the 1981 release of “Physical,” her ninth studio album whose title track of the same name inspired a sexy, fitness-themed video that debuted just after MTV hit airwaves.

Australian pop-singer Olivia Newton-John poses in Los Angeles, Calif., on Nov. 21. 1982. (Reed Saxon/)

The track — which was banned by select radio stations for its saucy content — spent 10 weeks atop the Billboard charts and earned Newton-John another Grammy nod.

After welcoming daughter Chloe with husband Matt Lattanzi in 1986, she took a brief hiatus.

Olivia Newton-John holds the Olympic torch before the Sydney Harbour Bridge, one day before the start of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. (EMMANUEL DUNAND/)

Following her diagnosis, Newton-John became an advocate for the disease, helping build the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre in Melbourne, Australia in 2008..

Newton-John split from Lattanzi in 1995, and soon struck up a romance with cameraman Patrick McDermott. McDermott disappeared in 2005 during a fishing trip off the coast of California, and has been presumed dead ever since, despite conspiracy theories claiming that he faked his own death.

Newton-John married businessman John Easterling in 2008.