The toll of fame
Translation:
Olivia Newton-John's European tour has taken its toll on her. You couldn't tell on stage, as she gave it her all for two hours every night. But after the show, Olivia was quite exhausted. She's still stunningly beautiful, and you wouldn't believe her thirty. Her sparkling eyes and sweet smile remain captivating, but fatigue is still showing. Olivia is slim, but she's lost some weight in the last few weeks.
No Time To Eat
Eight weeks of hard work without a moment's rest, you can feel it,
she sighs as she sinks into a lounge chair across from us. Last week I got food poisoning, which caused me to lose weight. But there was no time to relax. I had to go from one television station to the next, then there was a radio interview, a press conference, a photo shoot. And then in the evening, full throttle on stage. Sometimes I barely had time for a bite to eat.
That, of course, is the price you pay for fame. Fortunately, Olivia can count on her manager, Lee Kramer. Lee, a 27-year-old Londoner of Dutch descent, has been Olivia's steady boyfriend for five years.
He's strong,
she says, and much more aggressive than me. It's a good thing, because I always relent.
Lee and Olivia met in the south of France. It's a romantic story. I was sunbathing on the beach
, she says, when he emerged from the water right in front of me. He made quite an impression on me. He had a boat in the harbor, and that evening he invited me and a few other friends over.
He plied me with champagne on that plane and invited me to dinner the next day. When I came to, however, I realized I'd only remembered his last name. I looked him up in the phone book and told him that if he really wanted to see me again, he should come and pick me up. The sweetheart did, and immediately the game was on.
Since then, Lee and Olivia got together in Los Angeles. However, things weren't always rosy for them either. We've had our problems too,
says Olivia. A year and a half ago, we broke up for six months. Lee moved away, and he also gave up my management. But after that, we both knew how unhappy we were without each other.
Olivia and Lee's lives have changed slightly in the past year. First, they got back together, and then the Grease phenomenon hit.
We both suspected the film would be a hit
, says Olivia, but I never imagined it would reach such gigantic proportions. But with the premiere in Los Angeles, I knew immediately what it was. John Travolta and I got into quite a commotion. People were going absolutely crazy.
A week later, I was alone in Chicago; John wasn't there. A crowd of four thousand people threatened to corner me. The security services were able to free me at the last minute. Since then, I've become cautious when I have to go out on the street.
Olivia and Lee live in a large bungalow in the Malibu hills, just outside Hollywood. They don't live there alone, because besides six horses, four dogs, and two cats, there's also a permanent armed bodyguard.
We both absolutely hate that situation,
says Olivia. But we just can't help it. People sometimes think we live the lives of legendary Hollywood superstars. Forget it. There are rarely any parties, let alone wild orgies. Whenever possible, we keep it as cozy as possible.
That's worth much more to me than all the glitter and glitter in the world. Fame and money are nice, but there's so little time left for your personal life. Luckily, after the tour, I can catch my breath. I desperately need it.