Captivating Close-Up: Olivia Newton-John

Olivia Newton-John (born 26 September 1948 in Cambridge, England, United Kingdom) is an acclaimed British-born, Australian singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 albums.

She co-starred with John Travolta in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical, Grease, which became the highest grossing movie musical in Hollywood history.

She was offered the lead role of Sandy after a chance meeting with producer Allan Carr at a dinner party held by Helen Reddy in her Los Angeles home. She was convinced she was too old to play a high school senior (she turned 29 during the later 1977 filming), Newton-John insisted on a screen test with the film's co-star, John Travolta. The film accommodated Newton-John's Australian accent by recasting her character from the play's original American Sandy Dumbrowski to Sandy Olsson, an Australian who vacations and then moves with her family to the United States.

She is an avid activist for both environmental issues and breast cancer awareness. Her business interests have included launching several product lines for Koala Blue.

Source: Wikipedia