Olivia Newton-John

British born and Australian raised, Olivia Newton-John’s showbiz career began early when she won a 1960 contest to find "the girl who looked most like (young actress) Hayley Mills". Fast forward to the early 1970s and her pure voice and increasingly astute choice of soft-rock and country songs brought considerable success. This skyrocketed when she was cast opposite John Travolta in the hit movie Grease. Her next movie, Xanadu, was not a hit in cinemas but the album and single (with the Electric Light Orchestra) was a #1 hit worldwide.

In the 1980s, single and album Physical continued to bring success and fame, some of which was channelled into her own fashion business. Ultimately, that sideline disappeared like Xanadu but the singer was not deterred. After battling breast cancer she worked energetically to raise both money and awareness of this dreadful ailment, while also supporting environmental and  animal rights causes.

When she died in August 2022 the world lost a beloved singer and tireless advocate. Landmarks across Australia were lit in pink as a mark of respect and newspapers were full of tributes such as the beautifully titled "Why we were hopelessly devoted to Olivia".