Dame Olivia Newton-John has died of breast cancer, aged 73.
The British-Australian actor, who became a household name when Grease was released in 1978, died at home in California surrounded by her family, a statement from her husband revealed.
Newton-John’s Grease co-stars have paid tribute to the singer, including John Travolta who posted a picture of Newton-John to Instagram with the caption: “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!”
Newton-John played goodie-two-shoes Sandy in Grease, but the most iconic scene from the film is arguably the finale where Sandy steps out clad in an all leather look.
Speaking to Vanity Fair in 2016 about the transformation, Newton-John said: “That was such a stretch, and something I was really worried about.
“But when it happened, it was just this amazing feeling. It was very freeing. Not just for Sandy, but for me as well. Because I was always the girl next door. And then I got into that trailer with those guys and they put me into that outfit and the hair and I walked out to show Randal [Kleiser, Grease’s director], and the whole crew turned around. And the look on their faces! I remember thinking, ‘Oh my—I’ve been doing this all wrong’.”
Now, fans have taken to Twitter to pay tribute to Newton-John and her iconic outfit.
“When I was young and I saw Olivia Newton-John come on screen with the black outfit at the end of Grease the world changed for me,” one person wrote.
Another added: “There was no cooler moment for me as a kid than when Olivia Newton-John walked out in that all-black outfit, cigarette dangling from the corner of her mouth, at the end of Grease. I’ll miss you, Sandy.”
A third said: “This outfit and character has mesmerised me since I was a little girl. Thank you for everything, RIP Olivia Newton John.”
While another said: “This outfit will always be the outfit to me! It has shaped my fashion style since I was about three.”
Newton-John was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992. She beat the disease but was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in 2017. Throughout her battle she educated women on the signs and symptoms of breast cancer.
