Joy is being a mother for Olivia Newton-John
By Allen Black
AT THE age of 40, international star Olivia Newton-John has, at last, found complete happiness… as a mother.
She has a new album, Rumour, with the title song written by Elton John, as well as a number of TV appearances. But what she and her husband, Matt Lattanzi, are really looking forward to is another baby. Her daughter Chloe, now aged three, is Olivia’s darling. They were both seen recently sporting identical dazzling smiles on the way to a children’s party near their home in Santa Monica, California.
And now Olivia is hoping for another addition to the family. Motherhood and marriage have definitely settled Olivia, best known for her roles in the baby-sox romance Grease with John Travolta and the rock ‘n’ roll musical Xanadu.
She says “Since I have had my baby I’ve become a lot more aware. I’ve come to a time in my life when I don’t want to do another frivolous pop album. And I think my new album reflects this.”
Olivia has no plans to make any more movies in the near future. She explains: “I’m far too busy being a mum to Chloe”
But even if she never makes another film or record, she has other interests to keep her busy and the bank balance healthy. She is part owner of a booming, international boutique chain, the Koala Blue stores.
The petite blonde may have a sugar-sweet image, but she shows a shrewd business head when it comes to money. Even during her pregnancy, Olivia was keen to stay in the thick of business deals.
The clothes and milk bar chain has become a roaring success and she can hope to be make about US$8 million this year.
Olivia was born in England, the daughter of a Cambridge don, but brought up in Australia. As a result, Koala Blue shops have a typically Antipodean flavour, including designer knitwear from Down Under.
The chic sportswear line, chosen by Olivia, has become such a hit in America that she now has plans to expand the chain as far as Tokyo.
Another reason for wanting another child is the success of her marriage to handsome Matt, 11 years her junior. Olivia, whose lovers have included Shadows guitarist Bruce Welch, had just come to an end of a relationship with her then manager Lee Kramer, when she met Matt on the set of Xanadu.
Matt recalls: “I’d been hired because, although it was a musical, the leading man could neither sing nor dance so I stood in for him. and learned all the routines with Olivia.”
“We started to confide in each other and became so close I asked her out. I took her to Will Rogers State Park for a hike and we climbed a small mountain and ate Kentucky Fried Chicken not exactly your Hollywood smart scene, but we just went on from there.”
“I was 20 at the time, but we just seemed like two individuals who understood each other and enjoyed each other’s company.”
“There never seemed to be any age difference. I dated girls my own age too before, but I never felt any commitment to anyone until I met Olivia.”
Matt soon moved into Olivia’s Malibu home and Tinseltown gossips watched with interest wondering how long the love affair would last The couple proved all the cynics wrong.
The only hitch occurred when Matt appeared in the soft porn film The Tutor, playing a young man who falls for the charms of his older French teacher.
Then, after four years of living together, they finally decided to tie the knot and start a family.
At the time, Olivia said: “At first I worried about how people would react to Matt being 11 years younger than me I thought they would be unkind, but they weren’t.”
Olivia’s break into showbusiness came about when she won a talent competition in Australia at the age of 16. She then moved to England and became a regular guest on the TV show It’s Cliff Richard.
Her first big hit was Bob Dylan’s If Not For You, which was also an introduction for her to American audiences and it was when she moved to America that her career really took off. Cashing in on the girl-next-door image, most of her albums went gold and she was voted the Best Female Singer in 1975.
But her image began to change when she appeared in Grease with John Travolta. The high-school romance spawned such hits as You’re The One That I Want and Summer Nights and started a successful Newton-John Travolta partnership.
As Olivia explained “John and I have a lively chemistry together and it seems to work on the screen.”
They teamed up again to make the sex comedy Two Of A A Kind and referring to the fuss that had been made about Matt in The Tutor Olivia countered: “I thought Matt was very good in the film, and of course, I felt a little jealous when I saw the love scenes.”
“How could I be mad though? Why should I object to Matt playing love scenes when I get to do all the love scenes with John Travolta?”
Fortunately, both John and Matt, who share the same dark, good looks, get on very well together.
It was Matt who encouraged Livvy, as he calls her, to take on a more raunchy image He has always been involved in helping her chose her wardrobe.
It was quite a shock to her fans when Olivia appeared on the cover of the album Soul Kiss semi-topless and carrying a whip, but Matt thought she looked “just great”.
But then motherhood changed all that. Olivia loves her work in the pop world, but now, she wants to put having a family first. Her husband Matt is becoming involved in choreography and now, perhaps, Olivia would like to take it easy and enjoy home life.
She says “I have Koala Blue. In my old age, I’ll have something else to do. You never know how long pop music will want you. Or how long you will want it”
A clear hint that Livvy, at 40, has clear plans of her own.
Editor’s note - not sure I would describe the movie Two Of A Kind as a “sex comedy”