INTERNATIONAL superstar Olivia Newton-John has passed away at the age of 73.
Many will remember Newton-John as the face of the 1978 hit film Grease, but the Australian singer/songwriter was a Melbourne native before rocketing to international fame, supporting the Bluebaggers through thick and thin.
Despite her family not watching any football, Newton-John felt a connection with the Blues through attending the University High School in Parkville, one that she was vocal about through her journey, even seen sporting a Carlton jumper on the film set of the worldwide hit in Grease.
Carlton fans might remember the first time that Newton-John graced the AFL landscape, which was her singing the national anthem prior to the 1986 Grand Final between Hawthorn and Carlton, when Newton-John was at the height of her fame and arguably one of the most sought-after Australian talents.
Despite moving to America to continue her career, Newton-John always kept a big connection to the north-east suburbs of Melbourne, with the Olivia Newton-John Centre cancer wellness and research centre residing at the Austin Hospital in Heidelberg.
Her pride and joy, Newton-John founded the hospital after her well-documented struggle with cancer in 1992, hoping that the centre would bring ‘peace and hope’ to cancer patients Australia-wide.
"With more and more people affected by cancer every day, I believe we are in a world desperate for healing, and I’m committed to doing whatever I can to help," Newton-John said.
"My dream is that one day the ONJ Centre will be only about Wellness, and we will no longer need cancer centres because cancer will be a thing of the past."
In 2011, Newton-John returned to the football world, performing with Russell Robertson and Jim Stynes before her Blues' Round 10 clash with the Dees at the MCG in the Ponsford Stand.
Stynes at the time was undergoing cancer treatment and was inspired by meeting Newton-John, urging supporters to help raise funds for the cancer centre, which would be fully functioning within the year.
She returned one final time to the MCG stage in 2014 to sing the national anthem ahead of the Sydney and Hawthorn Grand Final, being her second national anthem performance that would follow with a Hawks Grand Final victory.
While Newton-John admitted she wished it was a Carlton Grand Final, she said she was rooting for the Melbourne-based team regardless.
After a recurrence of her breast cancer, Newton-John passed away in her home in California, but her impact will last long beyond her career on the screen.
Becoming a symbol for cancer research and survivors everywhere, Newton-John’s legacy will live on through her cancer centre and the research she put her time and effort into since 1992 and will always be known as an Australian icon that ‘made it’ across the sea.
