life (through
1984 anyway) were derived directly from what Olivia did. Of course, I
was no Olivia so the effect wasn’t quite what I had in mind. I’ll keep
the photographic evidence to myself on that one.
In the event that you had a similar early-80s-Olivia-fixation, here are
some fun facts that you might not know about this totally amazing icon
of the decade.
-
She is actually half-Welsh (her Dad)
and half-German (her Mom), not Australian-born. They emigrated as a
family from England to Australia when Olivia was 6 years old.
-
Her
father was an MI5 officer on the Enigma project.
-
Her maternal grandfather, Max Born,
won the Nobel Prize in atomic physics.
-
Her mother’s family left Germany
before WWII to avoid the Nazis.
-
She began performing when she was 14
using the name Lovely Livvy.
-
She was diagnosed in 1992 with
breast cancer from which she recovered. She has since been an advocate for
breast cancer research.
-
Her dad died the same weekend as her
cancer diagnosis.
-
She has been nominated 12 times for
Grammys, winning 4 times, including a win for the music video for
“Physical” which won Video of the Year in 1983.
-
She’s been married twice, lives in
Florida and has one daughter, Chloe (age 25). Chloe appeared on
MTV’s Rock the Cradle (2008) in which 8 sons and daughters
of former pop stars competed in a singing competition. She got 3rd
place.
-
She is co-owner of a health
spa/retreat in Australia.
We
need very little prompting to write about Olivia Newton-John.
Her place at the top (tied with Debbie Harry and Joan Jett) of
the Like Totally 80s list of Most Awesome Ladies of the 80s is
secure. My hopeless devotion to all things Olivia started in
1978 with the release of Grease. I received the double LP
soundtrack for my 6th birthday. That was it; I was hooked. All
homemade dance routines and subsequent hairstyles in my
