Olivia Ambassador for the Environment - Cine Revue

Translation from French:

She is stepping away from singing to dedicate herself to the causes she defends. Olivia NEWTON-JOHN's favorite role: ambassador for environmental protection!

She says it without mincing words: with Warm and Tender, her latest and seventeenth album, Olivia Newton-John first and foremost wanted to please her four-year-old daughter, Chloe, and all the mothers of her generation who used to sweat it out to Physical. It is indeed a collection of lullabies, interspersed with more energetic tracks, including hugely popular songs like Rock a Bye, Baby and Over the Rainbow.

It's the first time I wouldn't mind if someone fell asleep to one of my albums, comments the Australian blonde, who will celebrate her 42nd birthday on September 26th. And, as Olivia is also keen to use her art to support the causes she champions, the booklet accompanying her album includes ten tips on how best to keep the environment clean.

Olivia Newton-John has, in fact, been very officially appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador, attached to the United Nations Environment Programme. My album may not be a huge public success, she said, but it will still give me the satisfaction of having contributed to a cause and brought joy to all mothers and children. Everyone needs some form of recognition. And an artist more than others.

Olivia Newton-John made a sensational debut in the 1970s on the disco-rock-country scene and won four Grammys (the Oscars of the music industry), after placing sixteen of her songs in the American Top 10. Who could forget Have You Never Been Mellow? and Please, Mr. Please? In 1978, she formed a dream duo with John Travolta in what remains to this day one of the most-watched films in cinematic history: Grease. In 1984, she turned the page, without truly closing the book on her successes, and married Matt Lattanzi, whom she met on the set of the film Xanadu, and who was ten years her junior.

Does she have any regrets about leaving the limelight? None. Rock music offers the advantage of being able to step away from it without any real regrets. I can't see myself doing Physical anymore. Nor can I see myself struggling on the pop music scene. There's a time for everything. The important thing is to move forward.

A Spat with Cher

While largely absent from the music scene, aside from Warm and Tender, Olivia Newton-John has cultivated other interests. The environment, in particular, has been a focus, with her crusades against deforestation in the Brazilian highlands and the protection of whales and dolphins. These efforts are always undertaken within the framework of her work with the United Nations.

It's worth remembering that one of the songs on her album Physical (1981) was dedicated to dolphins. The singer even convinced Geffen Records to use recycled paper for the sleeves of her latest album and banned aerosols, furs, and even tuna from her home, because the nets used to catch it also trapped dolphins.

The tragedy, she says, is that from the moment you realize that everything is connected, that everything in nature is interdependent, you feel guilty about everything. It's overwhelming...

Olivia Newton-John knows what she's talking about, as she's currently embroiled in a legal dispute with her neighbors, including the singer-actress Cher, who accuse her of polluting their environment. Olivia and her husband are indeed having the animal sanctuary built along Malibu beach, and they have allegedly deforested extensively and dumped some of the debris and trash into the sea.

I used to swim in the ocean every day. Now there's so much trash and filth floating in it that I don't even dare put my foot in the water, a neighbor fumes. Embarrassed but courteous, Matt Lattanzi put up a sign at the edge of their property, bearing these simple words and an apology: Sorry, but this is a temporary situation.

Azure blue and banana yellow

When the immense task still to be accomplished in environmental matters begins to depress her, Olivia Newton-John turns to her flourishing businesses. In 1983, she launched a line of sportswear under the name Koala Blue, a reference to the charming little Australian bear. Freshness and pastel shades are the key words of this collection, where azure blues mingle with soft pinks and banana yellows. Starting with a single boutique seven years ago, her business has flourished and expanded, now boasting fifty-five stores from Massachusetts to Hong Kong, and posting twenty million dollars in profits.

Olivia Newton-John is a happy woman. How could she not be with a husband as attractive as Matt Lattanzi, who has proven to her that an age difference is no obstacle, especially in Hollywood, to a harmonious and successful relationship? One is involved in fashion and environmental design, the other finds her niche in real estate.

The three of them, or friends, can enjoy spaghetti or kebabs, on the beach or on the tennis court. Living away from Hollywood might be the secret to their wonderful relationship...

By Joan Mac Trevor

Photo captions: Animal welfare, environmental protection, children's rights: Olivia Newton John is an active campaigner!
Together with her husband Matt Lattanzi, she runs successful businesses that provide them with a comfortable income...