Olivia's Amazing Comeback
Olivia Newton-John’s life, it seems, has come full circle.
The spherical voyage looped to a close this past March when Grease, the highest-grossing movie musical of all time, in which Newton-John played Sandy to John Travolta’s Danny, was re-released in theaters nationwide to commemorate its twentieth anniversary. For Newton-John, who has a new album coming out this month - her first American release in six years - the journey has been a turbulent ride punctuated by chart-topping highs and life-threatening lows.
Born in England and raised in Australia, Newton-John exploded Onto the American music scene in the 1970’s with a series of No. 1 hits, including “Let Me Be There,” “I Honestly Love You,” and “Have You Never Been Mellow.” A string of Grammys along with armfuls of other awards followed.
At the start of the 1980’s, her star went supernova with the release of Physical. The album’s pulsating title track became the second-longest-running No. 1 single in U.S. music history. And if that wasn’t enough to make the willowy blond singer’s heart soar, Newton-John was also in love. On the set of her 1980 movie, Xanadu, which proved to be a box-office disappointment, she met Matt Lattanzi, a dancer 11 years her junior. The two were married in 1985, and the next year their daughter, Chloe, was born.
Chloe became the focus of the Aussie entertainer’s existence. Although Newton-John continued to be involved in recording and other projects, marriage and motherhood were her top priorities. All seemed right with the world until 1992 - which Newton-John would come to characterize as “the worst year of my life.”
A series of traumatic events suddenly unfolded. The 5-year-old daughter of a very close friend died of a rare form of cancer. Newton-John’s international boutique chain, Koala Blue, was forced into bankruptcy. And in July of that year, just as she was about to launch her first concert tour in nearly a decade, she learned she had breast cancer and her father passed away.
Looking back, Newton-John recalls that she “couldn’t even really deal with my father’s death, because I had to concentrate on living. For a couple of days, I was frightened; then I realized I was the only one who could make the choice-to choose to be well, and to choose to be totally positive.”
Almost immediately, she underwent a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. Then came a series of grueling chemotherapy treatments that were completed in April 1993. “All I wanted was to be healthy,” she says, adding that “I don’t believe a woman is her breasts.” Extremely motivated “I had something to really live for,” she savs, referring to Chloe.
Newton-John tried to counterattack the assaults on her body through meditation, yoga, herbal remedies, and acupuncture.
“The most important thing,” she explains in her demure, Down Under accent, “is that you have to believe you’ll be well. I want women to know that cancer is not necessarily a death sentence. It can be treated and stopped, particularly if you catch it early.”
Newton-John, who’ll turn 50 in September, believes she’s living proof of that. Speaking of her cancer, for which she’s checked every six months, she says, “there are no signs of it,” adding with conviction, “I will never have it again.”
While Newton-John chalks up a victory against cancer, she openly admits defeat in another area: her marriage. Although Lattanzi was supportive throughout her illness, the ordeal fundamentally changed the couple’s relationship. In 1995, she and Lattanzi - whom Newton-John now describes as a “good friend” - separated and later divorced. Clearly still troubled by the breakup, Newton-John says, “the best healer for pain is time.”
That healing process is well under way, as evidenced by Newton-John’s new country/pop album, Back with a Heart. The title track, she explains, “is about surviving a broken heart. I’m through the other side now. I feel strong,”
Indeed, 1998 is shaping up to be something of an all-around comeback year for Olivia Newton-John.
Or, as she likes to put it, “a new beginning.”
By Carrie St. Michel