Olivia Newton-John, Actress, - Biography,
Actress
A
Pic of her
Born born September 26, 1948, in Cambridge, Britain
Height:
5 foot 6 ( 168 cm ).
Olivia Newton-John is an English-born Australian pop singer,
songwriter & actress. Her highly acclaimed vocal musical & acting talents
made her a globally recognized name. Olivia Newton-John is also a small business
enterpreneur & an avid activist in ecological or environmental issues.
Her
parents were Brinley Newton-John & Irene Born (b. May 25, 1914). Irene was
the eldest child of Max Born, a German Nobel prize-winning physicist who fled
from Germany with his wife in the 1930s in order to avoid persecution due to Born's
Jewish heritage & his wife's part Jewish descent. Olivia's father, Brin Newton-John,
originally from Wales, was an MI5 officer attached to the Enigma machine project
at Bletchley Park, & the officer who took Rudolf Hess into custody when he
parachuted into Scotland in May 1941. After World War II, he became a professor
of German at the UNSW annex at Tighes Hill in Newcastle, Australia.
In 1954,
at the age of five, Newton-John, her parents Brin & Irene, & her older
siblings Hugh & Rona, relocated to Melbourne, Australia, where her father
had taken a job at Melbourne University as the Master of Ormond College. Her parents
divorced when she was eleven years old.
By the age of 15, Newton-John
had formed an all-girl band, Sol Four, & soon was a regular on local television
(such as The Tarax Happy Show as Lovely Livvy) & radio shows in Australia.
She entered a talent contest on the television programme Sing, Sing, Sing, hosted
by 1960s Australian icon Johnny O'Keefe, & performed the songs "Anyone
Who Had A Heart" & "Everything's Coming Up Roses." She won
the contest & received a trip to England as the prize. Initially, she did
not want to go, but her mother encouraged her to broaden her horizons.
By 1963, Newton-John was appearing on the local daytime TV shows & weekly pop programs in Australia. It was on the Go Show, where she met her lifelong friends, Pat Carroll & John Farrar. (Carroll & Farrar eventually married.)
When she was 16 years old, Newton-John returned to England to live with her mother. Newton-John was homesick in England as she missed Australia & her then boyfriend, Ian Turpie (with whom she co-starred in an independently produced Australian telefilm Funny Things Happen Down Under). This changed when friend Pat Carroll also moved to England. The two formed a duo & toured nightclubs in Europe. After Carroll's visa expired, & she had to return to Australia, Newton-John cut her first solo single, "Till You Say You'll Be Mine," backed with "For Ever," for Decca Records in England in 1966.
Newton-John's first album was titled Toomorrow [sic], which was also the name of her musical group at the time. They were the brainchild of American producer Don Kirshner, creator of The Monkees. The group also starred in the movie Toomorrow.
Although the band & film were commercially unsuccessful, Newton-John's solo career started to take off with her first solo album titled Olivia Newton-John, which was released in the United Kingdom on Pye Records. Newton-John quickly became one of Britain's most popular singers. She was voted Best British Female Vocalist two years in a row by the magazine Record Mirror. In 1968 she met The Shadows' guitarist Bruce Welch, to whom she became engaged until 1972. They made appearances on Cliff Richard's weekly show It's Cliff Richard & she starred with Richard in the telefilm The Case.
Newton-John's first international hit was a song written by
Bob Dylan called "If Not For You," which was produced by Bruce Welch
& her friend John Farrar & released in 1971. In 1973, she released "Let
Me Be There" which not only became her first Top 10 Pop hit in the United
States but her first Top 10 country hit as well. She represented the United Kingdom
in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 singing "Long Live Love" &
came in at fourth place. Later in the year, the album If You Love Me, Let Me Know
& the single "I Honestly Love You" were released in the United States,
& "I Honestly Love You" became her first single to chart at #1 across
the Atlantic. The song also crossed over into the Top 10 on the country charts.
The title track of the album also became a huge hit as well going Top 5 on the
Pop charts & nearly missed topping the Country charts.
In 1975, encouraged by expatriate Australian singer Helen Reddy, Newton-John left England & moved to the United States, where she became a popular singer in both country & popular music. The 1975 release of Have You Never Been Mellow yielded a #1 album & a #1 song (the title single), & helped to continue her U.S. success. She had three more #1 hits, including the song "Physical", which stayed at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for ten weeks. She has received four Grammy Awards in her career.
In the country music field, she was respected & loved by fans as much as she was reviled by country purists who believed her brand of music had no place on country radio. In 1974, she won the Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year award, beating out such country stars as Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Lynn Anderson, Anne Murray & Tanya Tucker. Another country icon, Tammy Wynette, was not even nominated. Newton-John's win angered many pure country artists & fans, & perhaps as a direct result, some country artists & other influential personalities became members of a newly formed organization called the Association of Country Entertainers. Nonetheless, Olivia continued to have Top 5 country successes with "Have You Never Been Mellow" (1975), "Please Mr. Please" (1975), "Let It Shine" (1976), & "Come On Over" (1976). For a brief period during the mid 70's, some of her songs became bigger country hits than they were pop hits.
Newton-John's music video for "Physical" was one of several that popularized this style of song promotion in the early 1980s; it became notorious upon its release due to it being banned in some locations because of the sensual nature of the video & its lyrics. Still, her international success kept her in the public eye & provided continued music sales for many years after.
Film & television
Olivia Newton-John as Sandy Olsson in Grease.Newton-John's film breakthrough
came when she was offered the female lead in Grease (1978), after a chance meeting
with producer Allan Carr at a party at Helen Reddy's house in Los Angeles. John
Travolta, already chosen as the male lead in the movie, wanted Newton-John to
be his co-star in the film, & he let his wishes be known to Carr & director
Randal Kleiser before either of them met Newton-John. Concerned that she was either
too old or not confident enough to play the part, Newton-John insisted on a screen
test with Travolta. She liked what she saw when she viewed the test & then
happily signed on for the project, shot in the summer of 1977.
The film was the biggest box office hit of 1978 & remained popular enough that it was re-released in theaters in the United States on its 20th anniversary. Two songs from the movie soundtrack, "You're The One That I Want" & "Summer Nights", went to #1 on US & international charts & stood at the #1 position for nine & seven weeks respectively on the UK charts. Newton-John's solo number "Hopelessly Devoted To You" was also a hit. The album was also a huge hit in Australia & Newton-John attended the premieres in both Sydney & Melbourne. She was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actress in a Musical for her role in Grease.
To follow this success, Newton-John released the album Totally Hot in 1978 with extensive promotion. The release was another critical & commercial success. It spawned the smash hit "A Little More Love," # 11 single "Deeper Than The Night," & the # 52 title track "Totally Hot." A more ambitious album than some of Newton-John's earlier releases, the record included both sexy up-tempo numbers (including a spirited remake of the Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin"), alongside characteristically beautiful ballads. With this, Newton-John further established herself as one of the most versatile & appealing female pop vocalists of her generation. The album also cemented Newton-John's transformation into a sex symbol.
In 1980, she took the lead with Gene Kelly & Michael Beck in the musical feature film, Xanadu. While at the time, the movie was considered a critical & commercial failure, over the years, it has gained a considerable cult following. The Xanadu soundtrack had several commercially successful singles like "Magic", "Suddenly" & the title-song "Xanadu". Its production was a collaborative effort with Electric Light Orchestra & notable performance between Gene Kelly & The Tubes mixing swing & new wave punk. In 1981, Newton-John received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in recognition of her outstanding career.
1981 saw the release of Newton-John's most successful studio album yet, Physical. The title track spent ten weeks at #1 on the Billboard hot 100. It saw further success with "Make A Move On Me" & "Landslide". Taking advantage of the brand-new MTV, Olivia filmed a video album for all 10 tracks, as well as a few older songs. In January 1982, Olivia: Let's Get Physical aired on ABC & the video collection was subsequently released on home video.
Newton-John's music video for "Physical" was one of several that popularized this style of song promotion in the early 1980s; it became notorious upon its release due to it being banned in some locations because of the sensual nature of the video & its lyrics. Still, her international success kept her in the public eye & provided continued music sales for many years after.
In 1983, she re-teamed with Travolta in the critically & commercially unsuccessful Two of a Kind, redeemed by fans as the source of a successful soundtrack including "Twist of Fate" & a new duet with Travolta, "Take a Chance". She also appeared in a dramatically different role in Del Shore's Sordid Lives as Bitsy Mae Harling, a lesbian ex-con country & western singer.
Newton-John has done a body of television work as well. She starred in the television movies A Mom For Christmas & A Christmas Romance. She has also guest-starred in sitcoms (mostly as herself) such as Murphy Brown, Bette, & Ned & Stacey & the made for TV film The Wilde Girls, which featured her daughter Chloe Rose Lattanzi.
Newton-John has also hosted Wild Life, a show about animals & nature, two major interests for Newton-John. She was a guest star in two episodes of the Australian series The Man From Snowy River as Joanna.
Later career
In 1983, Newton-John
& long-time friend Pat Farrar founded Koala Blue, a chain of women's clothing
boutiques, with the designs of the apparel based on the unique style & colours
of Australia. The chain was successful for some time but eventually went out of
business. However, Newton-John & Farrar have licensed the brand name for a
line of Australian produced wines, confections, & other items.
1985's Soul Kiss marked a downturn in popularity, spawning only one minor hit with the title track. 1988's The Rumour fared no better but has since become known as a gem in her vast catalog. It included, among its treasures, a recording of the late Mark Heard's "How To Grow Up To Be Big & Strong" featuring Heard on guitar.
In 1992 Newton-John underwent breast cancer surgery, from which she recovered. She now actively promotes public awareness of the importance of early detection of the disease. In October 2005, she released Stronger Than Before, an album promoting breast cancer awareness, sold exclusively through Hallmark Gold Crown® stores. In 2006 Walgreens introduced the “Olivia Breast Self-Exam Kit,” an aid to help women perform self-exams with more ease & confidence.
She is currently raising funds to build the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia.
In 1997, she released Back With A Heart which became her first top 10 album on the country charts in 18 years. She released a remake of the song I Honestly Love You which became a hit a 2nd time on the country charts & a 3rd time on the pop charts.
In 1998 Newton-John, John Farnham & Anthony Warlow formed a powerful trio on "The Main Event" tour which travelled to all major Australian capital cities & spawned a Top 10 CD which won an ARIA Award for Highest Selling Australian CD. In 2002, Newton-John was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.The same year, Newton-John returned to her country roots with the release of "Back With A Heart" in the USA. One track from the CD, "Love is a Gift (This is Our Moment)" won Newton-John a 1998 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song.
She sang the duet "Dare to Dream" with John Farnham at the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She was also an Olympic torch bearer, running the route around the Sydney Opera House on the eve of the opening ceremony.
In 2002, Newton-John released 2, a duets album featuring singers such as Darren Hayes, Tina Arena, Jimmy Little & Billy Thorpe as well as heartfelt duet-tributes with Peter Allen & Johnny O'Keefe. The album went in the Top 5 in Australia, followed by a successful Australian tour playing in Australia's main cities' entertainment centres & theatres.
2004 saw the death of her mother Irene & the release of Indigo: Women of Song, a tribute album covering songs by The Carpenters, Minnie Riperton, Doris Day, Nina Simone, Joan Baez, & others. Newton-John dedicated the album to her mother & the record went gold in Australia.
Newton-John continued with her U.S. tour in 2005 to support her new album Stronger Than Before. She chose the song "Serenity," a cut from this album which is based on a popular prayer, to end the show, instead of her signature closer, "I Honestly Love You." In November 2005, accompanied by long time friend Cliff Richard, she attended the Country Music Association Awards in New York City, where she presented fellow Australian Keith Urban with the CMA's highest honor: Entertainer Of The Year. She toured in Japan, New Zealand, & Australia in early 2006, & the USA in the fall of 2006.
September 2006 saw the release of Grace & Gratitude, a CD of "healing music". This was launched in conjunction with Olivia's signature line of body, heart, & spirit wellness products for women available exclusively at Walgreens Drug Store in the US. The album was recorded in Toronto, Canada & produced by Amy Sky, with whom Olivia has worked in the past. Sky co-wrote "Winter Angel" & other songs for The Rumour & most recently on Stronger Than Before.
( April 2007 ) Olivia has entered the studio in LA with producer Amy Sky to record her first ever studio Christmas album due late fall.
Songwriting
While she largely built her popularity
through singing the compositions of others, from her album Gaia onwards, Newton-John
has increasingly written or co-written her own songs. These often reflect her
personal philosophy & interests, with lyrics concerning such matters as mental
& physical health, peace, spirituality, & environmental concerns.
Personal
life
Newton-John was married to Matt Lattanzi from 1984 to 1995. They had one
child during their marriage, a girl named Chloe Rose Lattanzi, born in 1986. Chloe
was to launch her own pop career later in 2006 with her debut album Lonely Nights
in Paradise.
From 1996, Newton-John lived with gaffer/cameraman Patrick McDermott. However, on June 30, 2005, directly before her new album Stronger Than Before hit stores, McDermott went missing following a fishing trip off the coast of California. The Coast Guard has not ruled out the possibility of foul play but concedes that they have few leads. Newton-John, who was vacationing at her self-owned Gaia Retreat & Spa in Australia at the time, is not a suspect.
Fox News Network reported on June 4, 2006, that some witnesses claim to have seen McDermott alive & well in Mexico. A theory is that he staged his disappearance in order to avoid court proceedings brought by an ex-wife concerning child support payments. Newton-John has refused to comment on such speculation.
In 2002, she was inducted into the Australian Music Hall of Fame by the Australian Recording Industry Association.
In 2006, she was named an Officer (AO) in the Order of Australia for "service to the entertainment industry as a singer & actor, & to the community through organisations supporting breast cancer treatment, education, training & research, & the environment".
A
contestant on an episode of Deal or No Deal was a huge fan of Grease, claiming
to have seen it over 300 times. During the game, the producers called Newton-John
who spoke with the contestant.
In the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft, the
Stormwind bankers are named Olivia, Newton & John.
On January 28, 2007,
she was a guest judge on the reality television series Grease: You're the One
that I Want!.
On January 31, 2007, she was a guest judge on American Idol.
This website was written in April 2007
Pictures of Olivia Newton-John, which is not spelt Olivya Newton-John Olivia NewtonJohn, or Olivia Newton-Jon
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