[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Olivia Newton-John, a famous pop singer born in the UK and raised in Australia who won a Grammy Award in the United States, passed away on the 8th (local time) at the age of 73.
According to CNN and others, Newton-John's husband John Easterling announced on social networking services (SNS) that "Olivia peacefully passed away on a ranch in Southern California surrounded by family and friends."
Newton-John was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992 and had been battling spinal cancer since 2018. She was born in the UK in 1948 and became known to the public through the musical film Grease in 1978, in which she starred alongside John Travolta. Grease is set in the 1950s and tells the story of American high school students' youth, gaining worldwide popularity.
Newton-John also achieved great success in music. Her 1981 dance song "Physical" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 10 weeks, and she released 14 albums in the United States alone. Over her long singing career, Newton-John won four Grammy Awards and sold over 100 million albums.
She was active as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and as a spokesperson for the Children's Health Environment Coalition, participating in numerous charitable activities. Additionally, she established the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Center in Melbourne, Australia, supporting cancer research.
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