Sir Rod Stewart has paid tribute to his "great friend" Olivia Newton-John. The 73-year-old, who played Sandy in the hit movie, passed away surrounded by her family on Monday after a 30-year battle with breast cancer.
Taking to Instagram, Rod said: "My great friend Olivia Newton-John has passed away. She was the perfect Lady, gorgeous, with great poise and with a certain Aussie sophistication. Her spandex trousers in Grease were my inspiration for my 'Do ya think I'm Sexy' era. RIP Olivia. Sir Rod."
Celebrities from around the world have paid tribute to the singer and actress, including Samantha Womack, the former EastEnders actress who played Ronnie Michelle in the BBC soap. In her message on social media she also revealed she's battling the illness.
Sharing a picture with Dame Olivia and her daughter, the 49-year-old reflected on a night the star came to see her performing in Grease. She wrote: "This was the most magical of evenings. Olivia and Chloe had come to see Grease in London and we had dinner together afterwards. I was so excited and in awe, she was my childhood. I now start my own battle with this disease and am left feeling deeply moved. #OliviaNewtonJohn "
Dozens of fans rushed to offer Sam support after she revealed her own health battle on Twitter. This Morning's Soap correspondent Sharon Marshall said: "Wishing you love and strength."
Olivia's Grease co-star John Travolta also shared an old snap of Olivia and said: ""My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better. Your impact was incredible. I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the first moment I saw you and forever! Your Danny, your John!"
Actress Stockard Channing - who played Rizzo in Grease - said: "I don't know if I've known a lovelier human being. Olivia was the essence of summer - her sunniness, her warmth and her grace are what always come to mind when I think of her. I will miss her enormously."
The film's director Randal Kleiser said he had been friends with Newton-John for 40 years and "she never changed, she was always exactly the way everyone imagines her". "She was charming, lovely, warm... There are so many clichés you can say about her but in her case it was all true."
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