Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE |
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Newton-John in Sydney, 2012
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Born |
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK |
26 September 1948
Residence | Melbourne, Australia |
Occupation | Singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur |
Years active | 1963–present |
Spouse(s) |
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Children | Chloe Rose Lattanzi |
Relatives |
Max Born (grandfather) Brett Goldsmith (nephew) Tottie Goldsmith (niece) |
Musical career | |
Genres | Pop, country |
Instruments | Vocals |
Labels | Uni, MCA, EMI, Pye, Festival |
Website | olivianewton-john |
Olivia Newton-John, AO, OBE (born 26 September 1948) is a British-Australian singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur and activist. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five number-one and ten other top ten Billboard Hot 100 singles, and two number-one Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles (including two platinum) and fourteen of her albums (including two platinum and four double platinum) have been certified gold by the RIAA. She has sold an estimated 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling artists of all time. She starred in the musical film Grease, and its soundtrack is one of the most successful in history, with the single You're the One That I Want, with John Travolta, one of the best selling singles.
Newton-John has been a long-time activist for environmental and animal rights issues. In remission from breast cancer from 1992 until her newest diagnosis (see below), she has been an advocate for health awareness becoming involved with various charities, health products, and fundraising efforts. Her business interests have included launching several product lines for Koala Blue and co-owning the Gaia Retreat & Spa in Australia.
Newton-John has been married twice. She is the mother of one daughter, Chloe Rose Lattanzi, with her first husband, actor Matt Lattanzi. She remarried in 2008 to John Easterling.
Newton-John was born in Cambridge, England to Welshman Brinley "Bryn" Newton-John and his wife, Irene Helene (née Born). Her maternal grandfather was Nobel Prize-winning physicist Max Born, a Jew who brought his family to England from Germany before World War II to avoid the Nazi regime (her maternal grandmother was of paternal Jewish ancestry as well). She is a third cousin of comedian Ben Elton. Her maternal great-grandfather was jurist Victor Ehrenberg and her matrilineal great-grandmother's father was jurist Rudolf von Jhering.