Grease star Olivia Newton-John dies aged 73
- The actress, who rose to fame in the hit musical alongside John Travolta, died at her California ranch after a 30-year-old battle with cancer
- The British-born Australian-raised star devoted much time and effort to raising funds for research into the disease after her own diagnosis in 1992
Singer Olivia Newton-John, who gained worldwide fame as the high school sweetheart Sandy in the hit movie Grease, died on Monday after a 30-year battle with cancer. She was 73.
Newton-John “passed away peacefully at her ranch in Southern California this morning, surrounded by family and friends”, said a statement from her husband John Easterling posted on her official social media accounts.
The entertainer, whose career spanned more than five decades, devoted much of her time and celebrity to charities after first being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992.
The British-born and Australian-raised star dedicated a number of albums and concerts to raise funds for research and early detection of the disease, including the construction of a health centre named after her in her adopted home Melbourne.
“I don’t like to say ‘battled’,” a defiant Newton-John told Australia’s Channel Seven TV in September 2018 after revealing she had been diagnosed with cancer for a third time.