Olivia Newton-John

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BIRTHDAY

September 26, 1948

Cambridge, England

PROFESSIONS

Actor

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BIOGRAPHY

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Olivia Newton-John was an extremely popular country/ pop singer during the seventies whose best known songs include If You Love Me (Let Me know), Have You Never Been Mellow, and I Honestly Love You. Newton-John was born in Cambridge, England but raised in Australia. As a singer she got her start as a teenager performing in England. When she first burst onto the U.S. scene, she was known as a country singer, but soon crossed-over into pop. Newton-John went on to earn numerous gold records and won many awards, including the Grammy. In 1981, she had her biggest hit with Physical. In 1978, she broadened her horizons and became an actress, starring in the smash-hit film adaptation of the Broadway musical Grease. Following the success of that film, she starred in the musical fantasy Xanadu and bombed at the box-office. Still, as did Grease, which provided her with hits such as Hopelessly Devoted to You and the duet with co-star John Travolta You're the One That I Want, the Xanadu soundtrack provided her a hit with the title song, Magic. Her next film Two of a Kind, again co-starring Travolta, also bombed. As an actress she later appeared in a few episodes of Timeless Tales from Hallmark. In 1983, Newton-John returned to Australia because she was being stalked by a killer. Following his arrest, she returned to Hollywood and opened a chain of clothing stores, Koala Blue, in which she served interesting health drinks and Australian clothing. The chain went bankrupt in the early '90s. Newton-John was preparing to jump-start her music career in 1992 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer (her father had died of cancer just two weeks before her own diagnosis).She underwent a partial mastectomy and breast reconstruction. Newton-John returned to film, making a cameo appearance in the 1996 AIDS melodrama It's My Party.

~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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