Australia's Something To Sing About
Olivia Newton John has proudly showed off her eight-month-old daughter, Chloe Rose, to family and friends in Australia and has promised she’ll be returning on a regular basis. In fact, Olivia told Woman’s Day that Chloe has thrived on her first visit Down Under.
“She has been eating lots of farm fresh vegetables and fruit and she couldn’t be healthier,” said Olivia, now hack in Los Angeles. “And what’s more she is ready to crawl”
The main purpose of Olivia’s latest visit home was to sing at the Victorian Football League’s Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground… a request she has turned down on numerous occasions because of work commitments in the US. But since having Chloe, Olivia has put her career on hold. She saw the VFL’s offer this year as the perfect opportunity to show off her daughter.
For Olivia, a Carlton supporter, singing AdVance Australia Fair and Waltzing Matilda to an MCG crowd of 100,000 people and a worldwide television audience of 70 million, was momentous.
Even her disappointment over the Blues loss didn’t dampen the singer-actress enthusiasm at being home. Only the day before the match, she celebrated her 38th birthday quietly with friends.
Quiet, in fact, is one of Australia’s big attractions to the superstar. Olivia and Chloe managed to escape media attention by spending most of their month-long stay in Ballina in northern New South Wales where she and husband Matt Lattanzi have a three-bedroom property nestled among rolling hills. And she said now that she and Matt have started a family, it is certain they will be spending a lot more time on their country property.
For Olivia, motherhood is the ultimate joy. “Having her is the best thing I have ever done. She has brought a whole new dimension to my life,” she said.
“I hope to take Chloe to Australia as often as I can. I was raised here as a child and it is a healthy environment for children. I am not so sure about Los Angeles to raise children. Chloe will need to go back to Australia to get a bit of down-to-home treatment now and again.”
Story: Heather Wary. Picture: Gianni Marzella