Latest Word On Olivia's Baby
Here she is... little Chloe Lattanzi, the blonde, blue-eyed joy of Matt Lattanzi and Olivia Newton-John. This photo, the first to be released, was taken by Olivia's mother Irene Newton-John, who says her granddaughter's eyes are her best feature "so far".
Olivia Newton-John is 30 happy with motherhood and her new baby Chloe Rose Lattanzi, born on January 16.
"She is just wonderful," says Olivia, who has been in seclusion, away from the public eye, enjoying her blonde, blue-eyed bundle of joy.
So happy is she with her new role of mother that she and Matt already have the name of their next child picked out.
That is, if it's a boy. He will be called Jesse, and the plan is to have at least another two children before they feel the family will be complete.
Olivia still has her career on hold, preferring to be at home with Chloe.
"I want to spend every minute with Chloe. She is just wonderful. I can't imagine life without her." Olivia says.
After the arrival of Chloe, named after the Karl Lagerfeld perfume Olivia was wearing when she first met actor-dancer Matt, Olivia guarded her privacy zealously.
She turned her back on her celebrity status, re-fusing all requests for interviews, publicity pictures and television coverage.
This is the first picture released of the happy trio, and it was Olivia's mum and Chloe's grandmother who took the shot.
Back in Melbourne, after spending some time in Los Angeles. Irene Newton-John reports that her grand-daughter's eyes are definitely her best feature "so far".
"She has large beautiful eyes which at the moment are very dark blue. And I think she has her father's olive complexion."
A few weeks after Chloe's birth, the doting grandmother assembled Olivia, Matt and Chloe in the garden outside their Malibu ranch and took the beautiful picture.
"I took them in natural light. I wouldn't do flash photography because I think it might hurt a young baby's eyes, Irene Newton-John says.
She stayed with the family for two months after the slightly-premature birth of Chloe.
"I was terribly thrilled. I was hoping Olivia would have a child before it was too late."
Irene, a working photographer and grandmother several times over, flew to Los Angeles as soon as Olivia went into labor.
"It was a tremendous. rush," she says, "but I was able to see the baby the day after she was born."
Irene says she expects Olivia and Matt to have other children, and adds: "I'm sure they won't be taking Chloe on tour."
Olivia has always drawn a clear dividing line between her life as a superstar celebrity and her private life.
Chloe fell into the private sector and when Olivia released this first picture of her baby, it was significant in that it was not taken by a glossy Hollywood lensman such as Herb Ritts, who Olivia usually works with.
Olivia may have retreated from the public eye, but she has not been idle.
At her Malibu home, between playing with her baby, pureeing Chloe's first solid foods and feeding her, Olivia has been having meetings with her long-time pal Pat Farrar, and on April 29 she will make her first public appearance since the birth to launch her own Koala Blue clothing range and two new Koala Blue boutiques.
Last year Pat and Olivia, who dreamed up the Aussie milkbar/boutique on Los Angeles's famed Melrose Avenue, sold the franchise of Koala Blue to two New York businessmen who plan to open stores across the America, Europe, Japan and eventually in Australia.
The first franchised Koala Blue store opens at the Australia-designed Westside Shopping Pavilion near Century City in Los Angeles on April 29, and Olivia will be there to cheer it on.
A second Koala Blue opens in San Diego in June and others will follow later in the year.
And, in honor of little Chloe, Olivia and Pat have designed a special range of Koala Blue children's clothes, books and toys.
The word is that Chloe looks gorgeous in her new range, but is only at the stage of trying to eat the books.
In addition to her clothing range with Koala Blue, Olivia says she has also found time to put down a music video with her next-door neighbor at Malibu, record producer and song writer David Foster.
