Chloe, Olivia's daughter, continues her mission - Vanity Fair

Translation from Italian

Three years after Olivia's death, her daughter continues her mission (and her lessons)

WE ARE MAGICAL. This is what OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN sang in one of her greatest hits. Three years after her death, her daughter CHLOE LATTANZI is keeping her wish and supporting cancer patients and the vulnerable: from her she learned that even pain can make us better people.

I love Italy. I'm part Italian, on my father's side. That's also what made my mother fall in love with him. He made her feel safe and loved.

Chloe Lattanzi is the daughter of Olivia Newton-John, the iconic Sandy from the film Grease and Kira from Xanadu, and dancer and actor Matt Lattanzi.

Three years have passed since her mother passed away after a thirty-year battle with breast cancer. She was first diagnosed in 1992, then in 2013 after years in remission, and finally in 2017, when the tumor had metastasized to her sacrum.

Chloe carries on her mother's mission by collaborating with the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre in Australia, which welcomes cancer patients from all over the world and provides treatments with therapies that also address the well-being of the mind and spirit, such as herbal medicine, meditation, and medical cannabis, in addition to traditional cancer treatments. The same therapies that allowed Olivia to live longer.

On October 5th, the twelfth annual Olivia's Walk & Run for Wellness took place in Melbourne, attended by 2,500 people and over 100 dogs accompanied by their owners, who came together to celebrate Olivia Newton-John's legacy and raise funds for the ONJ Cancer Centre. Over $1.2 million has been raised worldwide to date. Chloe also ran, and is moved by the love people continue to show for her mother.

Processing grief for her must have been even more painful because she had to live it in the spotlight. How do you feel about the last few years?

Inheriting my mother's mission has been the greatest blessing of my life. Many don't understand that I lost my mother, not Olivia Newton-John the legend. I've become stronger, and my mother's spirit now lives within me. I am always happy to return to Australia to a team of angels who are dedicated to patients and their families. It offered the opportunity to take a spiritual and emotional journey. My mother made sure the furnishings were beautiful and exuded hope and joy. The recovery rate for those treated at the center is very high.

I'm proud that the people who work there are open-minded and aren't afraid to delve deeply into the mental health of their patients. I've faced the same issues, which are actually the manifestation of trauma. My mother was convinced that her cancer was caused by emotional trauma. I realized that there are no coincidences, and I believe there is a reason for everything. My mother wanted to help everyone in need. Helping those who suffer has become my mission.

You and your mother shared a very deep bond. You had disagreements in the past, but you always found each other.

She said ours was a symbiotic bond. If one wasn't happy, the other couldn't be either.

What do you think you have in common with her, and how are you different?

We have in common empathy and not judging others, because you never know what battle they're facing. I've always been direct, without worrying too much about what people thought. I discovered that Mom used to tell her friends, 'I wish I was able to express myself like my daughter'. It touched my heart, because I thought my way of acting annoyed her, she said.

She told me that I inspired her to support the use of cannabis for medical purposes because she was afraid people would judge her. I replied that those who make a difference are always judged. Speaking openly about it and helping reduce the stigma on the subject was the most important thing she did.

If Sandy could be perfect even while smoking marijuana, the same was true for those who needed it. My mother felt we had to live up to a certain image, to be the perfect family in people's eyes. We've been through a lot together and sometimes we've drifted apart, but we've always reconnected because we loved each other.

Does you still wear her cross?

I always wear something of hers. I always talk to her and know she listens. I often wear the cross and her frog ring. We had a passion for frogs, because I grew up in the rainforest and at home there was a frog that would jump out of the toilet.

What's your fondest memory of her?

When she came home after a long tour. We'd eat candy and popcorn in bed, staying up all night watching movies and laughing. In those intimate moments, no one could take her away from me. It was just the two of us. Nothing is more special than cuddling in bed with Mom.

What was the most important thing she taught her?

She could find the positive side of things and something to be grateful for even when everything was dark and scary. She never complained. She told me that when we face a difficult moment we can complain and cry, but it's no use if we don't learn from the pain to become a better person. We must know how to transform every experience into something positive.

The affair between my parents caused a scandal. They loved each other and were great friends. Don't believe the nonsense that has been written.

Her parents met in 1980 on the set of Xanadu. Her father was in the ballet troupe and Olivia was Kira, a Greek muse. The theme of the film is the power of making dreams come true with a touch of magic, and it can be said that it worked for the two of them, who fell in love at first sight. She was 31 and her father 20. Many criticized it, speaking of a relationship of convenience.

They were in love, they had a strong bond and, above all, they were great friends. They remained so even after they broke up. Don't believe the nonsense that has been written. It was a magical love story.

What was your mother's favorite movie, Grease or Xanadu?

She loved them both. Grease catapulted her into the stratosphere, but Xanadu was the magical place where she fell in love. You know the boots and riding top my mother wears in the final scenes of Xanadu, when she dances with my father? I have them. I wore them when I was in school, without realizing they were the originals. In retrospect, I regret not having kept them.

A few years before she died, my mother decided to auction off several dresses to raise funds for the ONJ Centre, and she asked me what I wanted to keep for myself. At the time, the most important thing was the Centre, and I told her to auction everything. I regret not having kept those boots, top, and black pants my mother wore in the last scene of Grease, when Sandy completely changes her look singing You're the One One That I Want with John Travolta

Do you have a favorite song among your mother's hits?

When I signed my first record deal at 17, I wrote a new version of the song Magic, inspired by the lyric line We have to believe that we are magical. Then the song we sang together, The Window in the Wall. There is nothing more intense in the world than hearing your mother sing to you and with you

Did Olivia have a favorite song?

Jolene by Dolly Parton, who also recorded it in the 1970s.

There is a Netflix documentary in the works. When will it be broadcast?

Filming it was a spiritual and profound experience. The director, Nicole Newnham, is like family. It will be released in the middle of next year and I can't wait, there are stories that have never been told before. Like that of Tottie Goldsmith, daughter of my mother's sister (Rona Newton-John, who died of cancer in 2013, ed.) and Brian Goldsmith. My aunt abandoned three of her children, including Tottie, who my mother took care of. Tottie and I are soul mates, as if we had one heart. I feel complete with her.

Chloe is a talented singer, as well as being involved with the ONJ Centre. What are your plans for the future?

I'd like to raise awareness of mental health issues, which are caused by traumatic events that aren't addressed properly. I'm not talking about medication or psychotherapy, but you need to be able to recognize the scars that alter the biology of the brain and body with the support of someone who can help you go back to how you were before they formed.

I'd like to get a degree in nursing to help people with addictions, who struggle with depression and anxiety. I still love making music and I plan to record new songs, but I dream of opening a wellness center in Australia and the United States with my husband James Driskill, who teaches Jiu-jitsu, also integrating physical exercise.

By Giusy De Ceglia. Photo Albane Navizet

Photo captions: When they were happy left: Chloe Rose Lattanzi, 39, with her parents, actress Olivia Newton-John, who died in 2022 at age 74, and actor and dancer Matt Lattanzi, now 66.
Chloe Rose Lattanzi, as a child, with her mother
and her parents, hand in hand at the premiere of Stayin' Alive in 1983 in New York.
Star Moments from left, Matt Lattanzi, Olivia Newton-John, Marilu Henner, and John Travolta in Beverly Hills in 1983.
Opposite page, Chloe Lattanzi at Olivia's Walk and Run for Wellness 2019.