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Olivia Newton-John (born September 26 1948) is a British-born Australian singer and actress.
Born in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, Newton-John lived there until she was 5 years old before relocating to Melbourne, Australia with her parents, Brin and Irene Newton-John, after her father was offered a job as the Dean of a College. By the age of 15, she had formed an all-girl band called Sol Four. By 1963, she was a favourite on the local television and radio shows in Australia. She won a talent contest on the television program Sing, Sing, Sing-- the prize was a trip to England.
Olivia returned to live in England, with her mother, when she was 16 years old. She cut her first two singles, "Till You Say You'll Be Mine" and "For Ever" for Decca Records in England in 1966. Olivia's first album was titled Toomorrow, which was also the name of the band of which Olivia was a member of. She and her band starred in their first movie which was titled Toomorrow. Although the band was 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 UK on PYE records.
Olivia's relationship with her then fiancé, Shadows' guitarist, Bruce Welch, and appearances on Cliff Richard's weekly show, helped Olivia quickly become one of Britain's most popular singers. She represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974.
In 1975, Olivia left England to take up residence in the USA where she was a hugely popular singer in both country and popular music. She had five number one hits, including the song "Physical," which stayed on the pop charts for ten weeks. She has earned many awards and received four Grammys. She has also received the "Officer Of The Order of The British Empire" from the Queen of England in 1979. In 1981 Newton-John received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in recognition of her outstanding career.
Newton-John starred in the lead role in the highly successful movie Grease and the cult film, Xanadu. The soundtrack Xanadu and its singles were very successful. Olivia also starred in Two of a Kind which received little acclaim but garnered hit songs. Olivia has also occasionally appeared in made for television movies and series episodes. She starred in the television movie "A Mom For Christmas" and appeared in an episode of the CBS series Murphy Brown. She had a small role in the independent film Sordid Lives.
In 1983, Newton-John and Pat Farrar, a longtime friend, founded Koala Blue, a chain of clothing boutiques for women with the designs of the apparel based on the unique style and colors of Australia. The chain was not a financial success and went out of business. However, Newton-John and Farrar have licensed the brand name for a line of Australian produced wines, confectionary and other items.
She was married to Matt Lattanzi from 1984 to 1995. There is one child from this marriage, Chloe Rose Lattanzi, born in 1986. Since 1996 she has been with boyfriend, Patrick McDermott, a cameraman. In 1992, she underwent breast-cancer surgery from which she recovered. She actively promotes public awareness of the importance of early detection of the disease.
Her maternal grandfather was Max Born, a German Nobel prize-winning physicist. Her niece is singer and entertainer Tottie Goldsmith.
Only Top Ten hits are included in this list.
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