Olivia Newton-John was born in Cambridge, United Kingdom, on September 26th, 1948, to Welshman Brinley “Bryn” Newton-John (1914–1992) and Irene Helene (née Born; 1914–2003). Her Jewish maternal grandfather, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Max Born, fled to Britain from Germany before World War II to avoid the Nazi regime. Newton-maternal John’s grandmother was also of Jewish ancestry; she was a third cousin of comedian Ben Elton through her. Her maternal great-grandfather was Victor Ehrenberg, a jurist, and Rudolf von Jhering, a jurist, was her matrilineal great-grandfather.
At age 14, Newton-John formed Sol Four, a short-lived all-girl group. In 1965 she won a talent contest hosted by Australian icon Johnny O’Keefe. She recorded her first single, “Till You Say You’ll Be Mine”, in Britain.
Olivia Newton-John’s first solo album, If Not for You (US No. 158 Pop), was her first international hit. She was voted Best British Female Vocalist two years in a row by Record Mirror. Her fortune changed with the release of “Let Me Be There,” which reached the U.S. top 10.
Olivia Newton-John starred in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Grease in 1978. The soundtrack album spent 12 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 and yielded three Top 5 singles. Newton-John previewed some of the film’s soundtrack during her second American network television special. John Newton-John performed “Summer Nights” and “Hopelessly Devoted to You” at the 1979 Tony Awards. The film’s popularity has endured through the years. It was re-released for its 20th anniversary in 1998 and ranked as the second highest-grossing film behind Titanic.
