Olivia Newton-John, famous for playing Sandy in Grease, died in her ranch in Southern California on August 8, 2022, after a long battle with cancer. After experiencing both spinal and breast cancer, Newton-John died at the age of 73.

“I don’t know if I’ve known a lovelier human being,” Actress Stockard Channing, who played Rizzo in Grease said to the BBC.

Newton-John was born in Cambridge, United Kingdom and during her childhood moved to Australia with her family, where she spent much of her youth. Her father was a German translator from Wales and the headmaster of King’s college. Her mother was a writer and the daughter of Max Born, a Nobel-Prize-winning German Jewish physicist who was a longtime friend of Albert Einstein and fled Nazi Germany in 1933.

Newton-John sold more than 100 million records, including ‘You’re the One That I Want’ with John Travolta. She also won four Grammy awards and scored seven U.S. number one hits between 1974 to 1977. Unfortunately, her breast cancer diagnosis forced her to postpone and cancel several tours.

“My dear sweet Olivia. RIP angel. I know your sweet voice will be welcomed in the angel band today…” American Country Singer Stella Parton replied to a post on Newton-John’s Instagram.

Newton-John was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992 after she found a lump in her breast. Her diagnosis forced her to postpone and cancel many tours. After seemingly beating breast cancer, she was diagnosed again in 2013, followed by another cancer diagnosis in her back in 2017.

“Because the joy of life and everyday living has to be a part of that healing process as well,” Newton-John said to CBS News. “So, I’ve chosen that path to be grateful and to feel good about things because the other side’s not so good.”

After her diagnosis, Newton-John advocated for cancer research and started a charity: the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, which is dedicated to researching plant based medicine and cancer, which has raised millions of pounds to support research. After her death, her family asks for donations towards this foundation.

While she was alive, Newton-John preferred to be seen as a ‘thriver’ rather than a cancer ‘survivor.’

“Survivor sounds like someone clinging onto a lifeboat,” she said to the Hollywood Reporter. “A thriver’s someone who’s already off the boat and on land.”