News that Olivia Newton-John passed away aged just seventy-three has left the world shocked and now her niece has revealed the late actress “suffered” during her last few days.
Aside from all the tributes that have flooded in, what Olivia’s niece had to say about the star was truly heartbreaking.
Scroll down to read the full story…
The devastating news that Grease star Olivia Newton-John has passed away has broken the hearts of people all over the world.
And all of our thoughts are with her loved ones.
Oliva Newton-John’s career is as impressive as it gets.
Most of us know her for her iconic portrayal of Sandy in the 1978 hit musical, Grease.
But it’s not where she began her career.
As a teenager, Olivia became a regular on Australian television shows such as Time for Terry and The Happy Show.
In 1965, the star won a broadcasted talent show called Sing, Sing, Sing.
And in 1966, she recorded her first single, ‘Till You Say You’ll Be Mine.’
By 1972, she had recorded 2 studio albums.
And in 1974, Olivia represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song ‘Long Live Love,’ finishing 4th in the same year that ABBA won with their performance of ‘Waterloo.’
It was in 1978 when her career soared, however.
The catalyst was, of course, her casting in the role of Sandy in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Grease.
At twenty-eight years old, Olivia shot to fame.
Grease became the biggest box-office hit of 1978 and the soundtrack spent twelve non-consecutive weeks at No. 1.
The movie also yielded three Top 5 singles for the star.
‘You’re the One That I Want, ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You,’ and ‘Summer Nights’ became huge hits.
And the movie has, of course, retained its popularity.
Grease remains a fan favorite.
In 1992, Olivia was diagnosed with breast cancer.
She reportedly received the news on the same weekend that her father passed away.
She underwent a partial mastectomy, but the cancer tragically returned in 2013.
And again in 2017.
Since making her diagnosis public, Olivia had established the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia.
As well as the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, which continues to raise money for research toward plant-based medicine.
It was on 8th August that Olivia’s rep announced that the star died peacefully at her ranch in Southern California.
She was surrounded by family and friends.
A statement on her official Facebook page read:
“Dame Olivia Newton-John (73) passed away peacefully at her Ranch in Southern California this morning, surrounded by family and friends.”
“We ask that everyone please respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time.”
“Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer.”
“Her healing inspiration and pioneering experience with plant medicine continues with the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, dedicated to researching plant medicine and cancer.”
“In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any donations be made in her memory to the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund.”
The star’s cause of death has not yet been confirmed.
After hearing the devastating news, her Grease co-star John Travolta paid tribute to her.
“My dearest Olivia,” he began, sharing a photo of the star.
“You made all of our lives so much better. Your impact was incredible.”
“I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again.”
“Yours from the first moment I saw you and forever! Your Danny, your John!”
Many others have also paid tribute to the star online, but it’s her last post that has left everyone heartbroken.
Just 2 days before her death, Olivia shared a photo on Instagram of herself and her husband in a warm embrace.
And the pair were beaming as they sat cuddled up together.
She captioned the photo: “#flashbackfriday” along with a heart emoji.
Olivia married her husband, John Easterling, the businessman and environmentalist, back in 2008, and they have been inseparable ever since.
The pair met when she was fifty-nine, just 1 year after her ex Patrick McDermott’s disappearance during an overnight fishing trip.
Olivia opened up about moving on after his suspected death to PEOPLE back in 2016: “I dated a little bit, but I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with him, and then bam!
“I’m very lucky I have a wonderful, beautiful husband who is just so loving and fantastic. I always tell my friends you’re never too old to find love. I found the love of my life at 59 going on 60! I’m grateful.”
John later posted a photo of Olivia, along with a caption sharing that she had tragically passed.
You can see her heartbreaking final post here.
Not long after the announcement, Olivia’s long-time friend and Grease co-star, Didi Conn, who played Frenchy in the hit musical, spoke out.
She shared a tear-jerking tribute to her friend during an interview on BBC Breakfast this morning.
Conn said: “I had been ill this year and [Olivia] didn’t know, and when she found out she sent me an orchid plant.
“That was about two months ago and just Friday, the plant which had lost all its beautiful buds, a new one popped up.”
She added: “I thought of Olivia and I thought, how lucky I have been to be her friend.”
She later spoke to Good Morning America, sharing her final phone call with the actress.
“She told me that she wasn’t walking anymore and she had full-time care,” Conn said.
“But her husband, John, and her daughter, Chloe, were there all the time and she told me they were just so hopelessly devoted.”
She added that she would always remember Olivia with “love and light,” which is how she would end every message.
“I think I will remember her singing,” Didi continued. “She would put her hands out to her audience and sing ‘I Honestly Love You’ and I think that’s how I’ll always remember her—this big heart. And we will honestly always love her, too.”
And it’s left fans emotional.
In the video, posted in December last year, Olivia said she wanted to thank her fans…
The legendary actress said she wishes all her fans “the best” as well as sending “love and light” to everyone.
You can watch her emotional final video here.
But it’s Olivia’s touching words she told her niece before her death that have left fans feeling extremely heartbroken…
Olivia’s niece, Totti Goldsmith, opened up about her aunt’s declining health…
And said it wasn’t a surprise to the family when they learned of Olivia’s passing.
“It’s not a shock, we’ve known how sick she’s been,” Goldsmith told Australia’s 9 Now News.
She also admitted that the late actress “really struggled with a lot of pain” in the “past five, six days.”
And “had been taking cannabinoids prior to her death.”
But the “level of pain continued to intensify and the drug was providing little relief” in the end.
“It’s really helped her, but later on it wasn’t enough,” Goldsmith admitted.
Goldsmith also said that “it wasn’t just cancer” that had got to Olivia, as there were “other complications” like “being in hospital with a very susceptible immune system.”
“She got secondary infections. She really went down in the past five, six days,” Goldsmith revealed.
Although she couldn’t see Olivia in person, Goldsmith shared she called her aunt before she passed…
And even thanked the actress’ husband, John, for making it possible to see her through FaceTime too.
“I couldn’t get to America in time and I wanted to say goodbye, so I asked him if he could hold the phone up to her ear.
“But he got me on FaceTime so I managed to see her,” she revealed.
“I told her all the things I needed to say. She was leaving us, but I could feel like she got it,” she confessed.
During the last moments, Goldsmith candidly revealed that she asked her aunt an important question…
And it was about passing away…
She recalled the incident and said, “there was one day at the Olivia Newtown John Centre and she was really skinny and unwell and I said to her ‘Are you afraid of dying?'”
And it’s Olivia’s response that has made everyone feel even more emotional…
“Plonker, I’m not afraid. I’ve done more in my life than I could have ever imagined, ‘ replied the late actress.
But Goldsmith revealed that Olivia’s health had deteriorated in the days leading up to her death after decades of fighting breast cancer.
Goldsmith then broke down into tears when she was asked what Olivia was most proud of in life and didn’t take a minute to answer…
“Chloe,” Goldsmith confessed, referring to the daughter Olivia shared with ex-husband, Matt Lattanzi.
“She loved that girl so much. Chloe’s doing it really tough, but she’s been amazing,” she said.
Goldsmith also said the late star “struggled” in her last days…
“She’s struggled with a lot of pain and it’s been a tough road,’ Goldsmith concluded.
Our thoughts are with Olivia’s friends and family during this difficult time.
Rest in peace, Olivia.
We are already more than halfway through 2022, and sadly this year alone we have lost a lot of memorable celebrities.
Whether that’s musicians, actors, or artists, there have been many notable losses of people that have touched our lives in some way or another. And we’d like to take some time to remember them for their talents…
Who better to start the tributes of our most loved celebrities than James Caan.
Caan most notably played the role of Santino “Sonny” Corleone in the hit movie The Godfather, which earned him an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He also appeared in Misery and Elf which just proves what great range he had. He passed away on July 6, aged eighty-two.
Tony Sirico…
Sharing Caan’s love of gangsta roles, Sirico, who started out on the big screen in 1974, appeared in Goodfellas as Tony Stacks. He also famously played the character Paulie Walnuts in The Sopranos. He died on July 8 aged seventy-nine.
Ray Liotta…
We have sadly lost another star from Goodfellas this year, Liotta played the mobster Henry Hill and most recently appeared in Shades of Blue, with Jennifer Lopez. He died on May 26, aged sixty-seven.
Mary Mara…
Mara was a TV and theatre actor. Police believe she drowned while swimming in the St. Lawrence River. She was sixty-one.
Margaret Keane…
Keane was a famous painter, who only received acclaim for her work twenty years after her husband rose to fame for passing her work off as his own. He was eventually found out. She continued to paint until her death at the age of ninety-four.
Naomi Judd…
Judd was a well-known country singer who performed with her daughter in the band Judds, together the pair won 5 Grammy Awards and even made it into the Country Music Hall of Fame. She died on April 30, aged seventy-six.
Robert Morse…
Morse started out on Broadway way back in 1955, which catapulted his career in showbiz, later on in his career he took to acting on TV and won many accolades for his performances. His most notable TV performance was as Bertram Cooper in Mad Men. He died on April 20, aged ninety.
Gilbert Gottfried…
We all know Gottfried as the incredible comedian with the iconic shrill voice. He notably appeared on Saturday Night Live, and also played the parrot Iago in Disney’s Aladdin. Sadly, he died on April 12, aged sixty-seven.
Estelle Harris…
Harris was most well known for her role as Estelle Costanza on the sitcom Seinfeld. She also took on voice work for Mrs. Potato Head in the animated movie Toy Story. She died on April 3, aged ninety-three.
Tom Parker…
Parker was a singer from the popular British boyband The Wanted. Sadly, in 2020, he was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer. He died on March 30, aged just thirty-three.
Taylor Hawkins…
Hawkins was famously known for being the drummer for Foo Fighters, he played with the band for twenty-five years, and gained a lot of fans in the process. He died on March 25, aged fifty.
Scott Hall…
Hall, known as Razor Ramon, was a pro wrestler who founded the New World Order, with Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash. He died on March 14 shortly after getting a hip replacement, suffering multiple heart attacks before he passed. He was sixty-three.
William Hurt…
Hurt worked in TV, Theater, and Film during his illustrious career in Hollywood. He was nominated for 4 Academy Awards and won an Oscar for Best Actor in 1985. He died on March 13, aged seventy-one.
Emilio Delgado…
The Mexican-American actor worked on the children’s TV show Sesame Street for over forty years and was a huge part of our lives growing up. He also appeared in other TV shows, such as Law & Order. He died on March 10, aged eighty-one.
Sally Kellerman…
Kellerman was in the spotlight for over 5 decades, starring in TV shows before going on to play notable parts such as Margaret Houlihan in MASH, and recently the mother of Mark Maron in Maron. She died on February 24, aged eighty-four.
Ivan Reitman…
Reitman was an incredible director, working on such movies as Ghostbusters, and Twins. He died at home in California on February 12, aged seventy-five.
Betty Davis…
Davis needs very little introduction, the funk singer was well known for her incredible vocals. After less than a decade in the industry, she decided to leave. But she’s still famous for her iconic hits. She died on February 9, aged seventy-seven.
Manfred Thierry Mugler…
Mugler was a well-known French fashion designer who worked with some of the greats during his career. He was most notably responsible for creating Kim Kardashian’s wet-look dress for the Met Gala in 2019. He died on January 23, aged seventy-three.
Marvin Lee Aday (Meat Loaf)…
Meat Loaf sold over 100 million albums worldwide. The rock music icon not only had incredible skill with words, but his theatrical performances were next level. He died on January 20, aged seventy-four.
Louie Anderson…
Anderson had a long career as a stand-up comedian and also worked in television for a short time, gaining an Emmy for his role on Baskets. He sadly died from cancer on January 21, aged sixty-eight.
Gaspard Ulliel…
The French actor was best known for playing young Hannibal in Hannibal Rising and was scheduled to make an appearance in the Marvel series, Moon Knight. However, he sadly died in a freak skiing accident on January 19, aged thirty-seven.
Bob Saget…
Saget was best known for his role as Danny Tanner in the hit TV show Full House, and appeared in a range of TV shows and movies over the years. Although fans know him best as a stand-up comedian. He died on January 9 aged sixty-five.
Michael Lang…
Lang was the co-creator of the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival which began in 1969. It was a hugely historic event for the music industry. He died on January 8, aged seventy-seven.
Sidney Poitier…
Poitier was the first black actor to win an Academy Award for his role in Lillies of the Field, in which he won best actor. He also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Poitier died on January 6, aged ninety-four.
Lenny Von Dohlen…
The actor played the character Harold Smith on the original Twin Peaks, he also appeared in the movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. He died on July 5 at the age of sixty-three.
Joe Turkel…
Turkel was best known for his roles in The Shining and Blade Runner, and over the course of his career appeared in over 100 films and TV shows! He died on June 27, aged ninety-four.
Lil Keed…
Keed was a rapper and only starting out in his career when he suffered sudden liver and kidney failure leading to his tragic death. He died on March 13, aged just twenty-four.
Bruce MacVittie…
The veteran stage actor also dabbled in TV and is famously known for his appearances in The Sopranos and Law & Order. He died on May 7 at the age of sixty-five.
Mike Hagerty…
Hagerty was best known for playing the janitor Mr. Treeger on Friends, but more recently appeared on the sitcoms; The George Carlin Show and Lucky Louie. He died on May 5, aged sixty-seven.
Joanna Barnes…
Barnes was an actress and writer best known for her roles in hit movies The Parent Trap and Auntie Mame. She died on April 29, aged eighty-seven.
Jossara Jinaro…
Jinaro appeared on a range of TV shows such as ER, The Young and the Restless, and Judging Amy. She died after a battle with cancer on April 27, aged forty-eight.
Liz Sheridan…
Sheridan was a veteran actress, who played Jerry’s overbearing mom on the show Seinfeld. She also appeared in several theatre and TV productions over her career. She died on April 15 of natural causes. Sheridan was ninety-three.
Rae Allen…
Allen was best known for her roles in The Sopranos and A League of Their Own. She died on April 6, aged ninety-five.
Cheslie Kryst…
Kryst was Miss USA back in 2019 and worked with Extra. She died on January 30, aged thirty, after allegedly jumping from a building in New York.
Moses J. Moseley…
Moseley worked on the hit TV show The Walking Dead as one of Michonne’s guard zombies. He died on January 26, aged thirty-one.