A place where nobody dared to go The love that we came to know They call it Xanadu And now, open your eyes and see What we have made is real We are in Xanadu A million lights are dancing And there you are, a shooting star An everlasting world And you're here with me, eternally Xanadu, Xanadu (Now we are here) in Xanadu Xanadu, Xanadu (Now we are here) in Xanadu Xanadu, your neon lights Will shine for you, Xanadu The love that echoes of long ago You needed the world to know They are in Xanadu The dream that came Through a million years That lived through all the tears It came to Xanadu A million lights are dancing And there you are, a shooting star An everlasting world And you're here with me, eternally Xanadu, Xanadu (Now we are here) in Xanadu Xanadu, Xanadu (Now we are here) in Xanadu Newton-John in Sydney, Australia, 2012 Born 26 September 1948 (age 67) Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England Residence Melbourne, Australia Occupation Singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur Years active 1963–present Spouse(s) Matt Lattanzi (m. 1984–95) John Easterling (m. 2008) Children Chloe Rose Lattanzi Musical career Genres Pop, country, soft rock Instruments Vocals Labels Uni, MCA, EMI, Pye, Festival Associated acts Cliff Richard, John Travolta, Electric Light Orchestra, John Farrar, Helen Reddy, Bruce Welch, John Farnham, Anthony Warlow Website olivianewton-john.com Olivia Newton-John, AO, OBE (born 26 September 1948) is an English-born Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five number-one and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles,[1] and two number-one Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles (including two platinum) and fourteen of her albums (including two platinum and four double platinum) have been certified gold by the RIAA. She has sold an estimated 100 million records, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists of all time.[2] She starred in Grease, which featured one of the most successful soundtracks in Hollywood history.
Newton-John has been a long-time activist for environmental and animal rights issues. Since surviving breast cancer in 1992,[3] she has been an advocate for health awareness becoming involved with various charities, health products and fundraising efforts. Her business interests have included launching several product lines for Koala Blue and co-owning the Gaia Retreat & Spa in Australia.
Newton-John has been married twice. She is the mother of one daughter, Chloe Rose Lattanzi, with her first husband, actor Matt Lattanzi. Her second husband is John Easterling. Newton-John was born in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, to a Welsh father, Brinley "Bryn" Newton-John, and a Berlin-born mother, Irene Helene (née Born), the eldest child of the Nobel Prize-winning atomic physicist Max Born.[4][5] Her mother's family had left Germany before World War II to avoid the Nazi regime (Newton-John's maternal grandfather was Jewish and her maternal grandmother was of paternal Jewish ancestry). She is a third cousin of comedian Ben Elton.[4] Her maternal great-grandfather was jurist Victor Ehrenberg and her matrilineal great-grandmother's father was jurist Rudolf von Jhering. Newton-John is the youngest of three children, following brother Hugh, a doctor, and sister Rona, an actress who was married to Grease co-star Jeff Conaway from 1980 until their divorce in 1985. Newton-John's father was an MI5 officer[6] on the Enigma project at Bletchley Park who took Rudolf Hess into custody during the Second World War.[7] In 1954, when she was six, Newton-John's family emigrated to Melbourne, Australia, where her father worked as a professor of German and as Master of Ormond College at the University of Melbourne. Newton-John began 1980 by releasing "I Can't Help It" (No. 12 Pop, No. 8 AC), a duet with Andy Gibb from his After Dark album, and by starring in her third television special, Hollywood Nights. Later that year, she appeared in her first film since Grease starring in the musical Xanadu with Gene Kelly and Michael Beck. Although the film was a critical failure, its soundtrack (No. 4 Pop) was certified double platinum boasting five Top 20 singles on the Billboard Hot 100.[30] Newton-John charted with "Magic" (No. 1 Pop, No. 1 AC), "Suddenly" with Cliff Richard (No. 20 Pop, No. 4 AC) and the title song with the Electric Light Orchestra (No. 8 Pop, No. 2 AC). (The Electric Light Orchestra also charted with "I'm Alive" (No. 16 Pop, No. 48 AC) and "All Over the World" (No. 13 Pop, No. 46 AC).) "Magic" was Newton-John's biggest Pop hit to that point (four weeks at No. 1)[30] and still ranks as the biggest AC hit of her career (five weeks at No. 1). The film has since become a cult classic and the basis for a well-reviewed Broadway show that ran for more than 500 performances beginning in 2007 and was nominated for four Tony Awards including Best Musical.[31] (A successful international tour of the show followed.)
