Young Photos of Olivia Newton-John
On what would have been Olivia Newton-John's 74th birthday, look back on the Grammy Award-winning singer's career from the beginning.
Born Olivia Newton-John, daughter of a professor of German at Cambridge and Melbourne, the star of Grease grew up in a family of academics. Despite being surrounded by scholars, Newton-John showed interest in singing at a young age. While living in Australia, she formed a band called Soul Four where she would perform with her friends. From there, she began to appear on television shows such as The Go Show, where she became a regular guest, and starred in a movie called, Funny Things Happen Down Under. One of her early recordings titled, “Till You Say You’ll Be Mine,” is a rare gem that was recorded in the 1960s.
In the 70s, the British-Australian’s career began to grow due to her association with Cliff Richard, where she became a regular live performer on his successful TV show in 1972. Her first hit single was a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Let Me Be There,” a successful rendition that took the sixth spot on the American charts.
However, it was her iconic role as Sandy Olsson in Grease that catapulted the singer’s career in Hollywood. The film became one of the highest-grossing musicals ever at the time, and its soundtrack album, one of the best-selling albums of the year in the United States. Most notably, the songs “You're The One That I Want” and “Summer Nights” were also the best-selling singles.
Throughout her successful career, the multi-hyphenate artist took time to advocate for breast cancer research as she herself was also a three-time cancer survivor. Unfortunately, the actress passed away at her California ranch earlier this year on August 8.
As we remember the late Newton-John, our beloved Sandy Olsson, L’OFFICIEL celebrates what would have been the star's 74th birthday by taking a look back at some of her best moments from her early career.
