Olivia Newton-John Dead at 73

Olivia Newton-John, who portrayed Sandy in the film Grease, died on Aug. 8 at the age of 73. Read her husband's tribute below.

By Kelly Gilmore Aug 08, 2022 7:40 PMTags
Watch: Olivia Newton-John Dead at 73

Family, friends and fans are mourning the loss of Olivia Newton-John.

The Grease star passed away at her Southern California ranch during the morning hours of Aug. 8, per an Instagram post shared to her account by her husband, John Easterling. She was 73 years old. According to the post, Olivia passed "peacefully" while surrounded by family and friends.

In the message shared on Olivia's behalf, John detailed the "Physical" singer's strides within her public battle with cancer.

"Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer," the Aug. 8 post read. "Her healing inspiration and pioneering experience with plant medicine continues with the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, dedicated to researching plant medicine and cancer."

Olivia is survived by John, daughter Chloe Lattanzi, sister Sarah Newton-John, brother Toby Newton-John as well as her nieces and nephews.

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Olivia Newton-John's Life in Photos

Soon after the news was shared, those closest to her took to social media to honor her legacy.

Olivia's 36-year-old daughter shared a carousel of images with her mom ranging from when Chloe was a young girl up to more recently.

Meanwhile, John Travolta remembered his Sandy. "My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better," he wrote."Your impact was incredible. I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again."

John signed his post, which included a throwback image, "Yours from the first moment I saw you and forever! Your Danny, your John!"

Dezo Hoffman/Shutterstock

Though she's been applauded for her acting and singing, Olivia was also an advocate for breast cancer research, beginning after she was first diagnosed in 1992.

In 2013, more than two decades after she went into remission, Olivia faced a recurrence of breast cancer, but decided to keep the information out of the public eye. "Because of the speculation, which happened at times," she shared during a March 2019 episode of Today. "I just decided I wanted to go through it myself."

After a second recurrence in 2017, during which Olivia was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, she decided to share parts of her journey with fans. And in 2020, she opened up about her outlook as someone living with cancer.

"I don't think of myself as sick with cancer," she shared in an interview with The Guardian. "I choose not to see it as a fight either because I don't like war. I don't like fighting wherever it is—whether it's outside or an actual war inside my body. I choose not to see it that way."

Although the disease spread causing her to fracture her spine and need "a walker, a cane and crutches" temporarily, Olivia remained with a positive outlook.

"Three times lucky, right? I'm going to look at it like that. Listen, I think every day is a blessing," she noted." You never know when your time is over; we all have a finite amount of time on this planet, and we just need to be grateful for that."

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