Newton-John, Olivia Biography

Biography of Newton-John, Olivia. Detailed Newton-John, Olivia profile and review.

Olivia Newton-John was born on September 26, 1948 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. She is the granddaughter of Max Born, a German Nobel prize-winning physicist. In 1954, at the age of 5, Olivia, her parents, Brin and Irene Newton-John, and her older siblings, Hugh and Rona, relocated to Melbourne, Australia, because her father had taken a job there as the Dean of Ormond College. Her father was originally from Wales and was a professor of German. Her parents divorced when Olivia was 11 years old.

By the age of 15, Olivia had formed an all-girl band called Sol Four. By 1963, she was a regular on local television and radio shows in Australia. She won a talent contest on the television program Sing, Sing, Sing-- the prize was a trip to England. On this program she sang two songs: "Anyone Who Had A Heart" and "Everything's Coming Up Roses". Olivia returned to live in England, with her mother, when she was 16 years old, working as a duo with her friend, singer Pat Carroll (who subsequently married Olivia's producer, John Farrar). Olivia cut her first two singles, "Till You Say You'll Be Mine" and "For Ever" for Decca Records in England in 1966. Olivia's first album was titled Toomorrow [sic], which was also the name of the group of which Olivia was a member; it the brainchild of American producer Don Kirshner, creator of The Monkees. They starred in the movie Toomorrow. Although the band and film were commercially unsuccessful, Newton-John's solo career started to take off with her first solo album titled Olivia Newton-John which was released in the UK on Pye Records.

Got a blog? Put song lyrics on your blog with Lyrics List! Click here for Newton-John, Olivia Song Lyrics On Your Blog!

In 1968 Olivia Newton-John met Shadows' guitarist, Bruce Welch whom she became engaged to until 1972. She made appearances on Cliff Richard's weekly show "It's Cliff Richard" and starred with him in the tele-film The Case. The public soon took notice of Olivia's talents and she quickly became one of Britain's most popular singers, hence she was voted 'Best British Female Vocalist' two years in a row by the magazine 'Record Mirror'. Olivia's first international hit was a song written by Bob Dylan called "If Not For You" which was produced by her then fiance Bruce Welch and John Farrar. She represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 and came in at 4th place. Later in the year, the single I Honestly Love You was released in the United States and became her first single to chart at #1 across the Atlantic. In 1975, encouraged by expatriate Australian singer Helen Reddy, Olivia left England and moved to the USA where she became a hugely popular singer in both country and popular music. She had five #1 hits, including the song Physical, which stayed at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for ten weeks. She has earned many awards and received four Grammys. She has also received an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) from Queen Elizabeth II in 1979. In 1981 Newton-John received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in recognition of her outstanding career.

In the country field, she was respected and loved by fans as much as she was reviled (especially by country purists, who believed her brand of music had no place on country radio). In 1974, she won the Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year award, beating out such country heavyweights as Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Anne Murray and Tanya Tucker; another country icon, Tammy Wynette, wasn't even nominated. Newton John's win angered many pure country artists and fans, and perhaps as a direct result, some country artists and other influential personalities became members of a newly formed organization called the Association of Country Entertainers. Olivia's film breakthrough came when she was offered the female lead in the highly successful movie Grease, after a chance meeting with producer Alan Carr at a party at Helen Reddy's house in Los Angeles. John Travolta had desperately wanted Olivia to be his co-star in the film and had let his wishes be known to Alan Carr and Randal Kleiser before either of them had yet to meet Olivia. "You're The One That I Want" and "Summer Nights" went to number one on international charts and stood at the number one position for 9 and 7 weeks respectively on the UK charts. This was followed by the lead with Gene Kelly in the cult film, Xanadu. The soundtrack of Xanadu was a collaborative effort with Electric Light Orchestra and its singles were very successful. Olivia also starred in Two of a Kind which received little acclaim but garnered hit songs. Olivia has also occasionally appeared in made-for-television movies and series episodes. She starred in the television movie "A Mom For Christmas" and appeared in an episode of the CBS series Murphy Brown. She had a small role in the independent film Sordid Lives. She has also appeared in sitcoms "Bette" and "Ned and Stacey" and the made for TV film "The Wilde Girls" which featured her daughter Chloe Rose Lattanzi and actress Swoozie Kurtz.

Lyrics List has a complete biography of Newton-John, Olivia in addition to song lyrics. This is your complete source for information!

In 1983, Olivia Newton-John and Pat Farrar, a longtime friend, founded Koala Blue, a chain of clothing boutiques for women with the designs of the apparel based on the unique style and colors of Australia. The chain was successful for some time but eventually went out of business. However, Newton-John and Farrar have licensed the brand name for a line of Australian produced wines, confectionery and other items. Olivia was married to Matt Lattanzi from 1984 to 1995. There is one child from this marriage, Chloe Rose Lattanzi, born in 1986. Since 1996, she has been with boyfriend, Patrick McDermott, a cameraman. In 1992, she underwent breast-cancer surgery from which she recovered. She actively promotes public awareness of the importance of early detection of the disease. In 1998, Olivia, John Farnham and Anthony Warlow formed a powerful trio on the "Main Event" tour which traveled to all major Australian capital cities, spawned a Top 10 CD which won an ARIA (Australian Record Industry Association) Award for Highest Selling Australian CD. She sang a duet "Dare to Dream" with John Farnham at the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was the Olympic flame torch bearer running the route around the Sydney Opera House. In 2002, a duets album called (2) was released (featuring singers such as Darren Hayes, Tina Arena, Jimmy Little and Billy Thorpe as well as heartfelt duet-tributes with Peter Allen and Johnny O'Keefe) and went Top 5 in Australia and was followed by a successful Australian tour. In 2002 Olivia was also inducted into the ARIA HAll of Fame. 2004 saw the death of her beloved mother Irene and the release of "Indigo: Women of Song", a tribute album covering songs by The Carpenters, Minnie Ripperton, Doris Day, Nina Simone, Joan Baez and many others dedicated to Irene. In 2005 a compilation album "Gold" was released: a double CD with many hits and some rarities and later in the year "Stronger than Before" a CD promoting breast cancer awareness will also be released. Another mooted project is "The Hotel Sessions" a dance music CD produced by Olivia's nephew, Brett Goldsmith. Olivia's niece is singer and entertainer Tottie Goldsmith.

Olivia Newton-John Top Ten hits from the Billboard Hot 100 are: "Let Me Be There", "If You Love (Let Me Know)", "I Honestly Love You", "Have You Never Been Mellow", "Please Mr. Please", "You're The One That I Want", "Hopelessly Devoted To You", "Summer Nights", "A Little More Love", "Magic", "Xanadu", "Physical", "Make A Move On Me", "Heart Attack", and "Twist Of Fate".

Copyright © 2005 LyricsList.com Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation. This license applies to band reviews ONLY, and does not apply to any song lyrics or to words to songs. Song lyrics are copyright protected by their creators / owners. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled GNU Free Documentation License.

Ewton-john, Olivia Nwton-john, Olivia Neton-john, Olivia Newon-john, Olivia Newtn-john, Olivia Newto-john, Olivia Newtonjohn, Olivia Newton-ohn, Olivia Newton-jhn, Olivia Newton-jon, Olivia Newton-joh, Olivia Newton-john Olivia Newton-john, Livia Newton-john, Oivia Newton-john, Olvia Newton-john, Oliia Newton-john, Oliva Newton-john, Olivi