Olivia Newton-John dead at age 73

Olivia Newton-John, the double threat from Down Under who stole America’s heart as the good girl Sandy in “Grease,” then skyrocketed to international fame as a pop superstar, died Monday morning at age 73.

Her husband, John Easterling, said in a post to her Facebook page that she “passed away peacefully at her Ranch in Southern California this morning, surrounded by family and friends.”

“We ask that everyone please respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time,” Easterling added.

No official cause of death was given, but the star battled cancer for three decades and had been very public with her most recent bout of the disease since receiving the diagnosis in May 2017.

“Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer,” Easterling said Monday. “Her healing inspiration and pioneering experience with plant medicine continues with the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, dedicated to researching plant medicine and cancer.”

Newton-John was candid about her battle with cancer.

“I’d be lying if I said I never go (down the rabbit hole of fear), there are moments, I’m human,” she told the Australian news program “Sunday Night” years ago. “So if I allow myself to go there, I could easily create a big fear, but my husband’s always there, and he’s always there to support me.”

Newton-John was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, the same week her father died of cancer. Her recovery included nine months of chemotherapy, a partial mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgery.

Her first relapse came in 2013. Newton-John opted to keep her second bout private until September 2018, saying at the time that she’d been so vocal about her treatment in 1992 that she wanted to keep this battle to herself.

The four-time Grammy winner was born in Cambridge, England in 1948, the granddaughter of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Max Born on her mother’s side. Her family moved to Melbourne, Australia when she was in grade school.

Newton-John started in showbiz early, singing on local radio and television shows and recording music for labels like Decca Records in the U.K.

She had a successful single in 1971, “If Not For You,” which was written by Bob Dylan and previously recorded by George Harrison.

“I didn’t think I sang it well, so when it was a hit, you know I had to really say it was my management,” she said in a 2005 book. “In those days I loved singing those big dramatic ballads.”

Two years later, Newton-John had her first crossover hit with “Let Me Be There,” which marked her first Top 10 single in the U.S. and won her a Grammy for best female country vocalist.

With her singing career in full swing, Newton-John continued churning out hits like “I Honestly Love You” and “Something Better to Do,” racking up two more Grammys and one nomination.

But it was her role as the girl-next-door Sandy in “Grease” that catapulted Newton-John to international fame, as the high school-set musical became the biggest box office hit of 1978.

Though Newton-John was hesitant to sign on — she was 29, and Sandy was a high school senior — the star was convinced after screen-testing opposite her on-screen love interest, a 23-year-old John Travolta.

“I was playing a naïve girl, but I didn’t want her to be sickly. I kept trying to give her a little strength,” she told People of the role in 1978. “John gave me a lot of confidence. We became good friends and spent a lot of time together.”

The role earned Newton-John two more Grammy nods, one for the movie’s platinum-selling soundtrack, and another for her yearning, poolside solo song “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” which she performed at the 1979 Oscars.

She hopped on the musical train once again in 1980 for “Xanadu,” which, despite negative reviews and a dismal box office showing, scored Newton-John yet another pop hit with “Magic.”

Just as Sandy found her inner bad girl at the end of “Grease,” so, too, did Newton-John, who shed her goody-two-shoes image as her music career headed into the ‘80s.

She cemented her place in pop star lore with the 1981 release of “Physical,” her ninth studio album whose title track of the same name inspired a sexy, fitness-themed video that debuted just after MTV hit airwaves.

“I recorded it and then suddenly thought, ‘Goodness, maybe I’ve gone too far!’ It was a bit raunchier than I realized,” she told Entertainment Weekly in 2017.

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The track — which was banned by select radio stations for its saucy content — spent 10 weeks atop the Billboard charts and earned Newton-John another Grammy nod.

Newton-John released the album “Soul Kiss” in 1985, though it didn’t make a splash, and after welcoming daughter Chloe with husband Matt Lattanzi in 1986, she took a brief hiatus.

She returned in 1988 with “The Rumour,” and continued to put out a steady stream of albums throughout the ‘90s and 2000s, including 1994′s “Gaia: One Woman’s Journey,” on which she chronicled her first battle with breast cancer.

Following her diagnosis, Newton-John became an advocate for the disease, helping build the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre in Melbourne, Australia in 2008.

She continued touring into her 60s and enjoyed a residency at the Flamingo Las Vegas in 2013.

Newton-John split from Lattanzi in 1995, and soon struck up a romance with cameraman Patrick McDermott. McDermott disappeared in 2005 during a fishing trip off the coast of California, and has been presumed dead.

Newton-John married businessman John Easterling in 2008.