Olivia Newton-John battled cancer for 30 years. The protagonist of “Grease” made the decision not to give up and to pursue the path of eradicating the malignant cells from her body when she was surprised with this diagnosis in 1992.
But it was his overwhelming personality and optimistic spirit that gave him the strength not to give up and face the disease three times. This is how she will be remembered forever, by her family and close friends, the people who witness her struggle in life.
The musical that made her famous was gifted to her best friends, not only her co-star, actor John Travolta, but also actress Didi Conn, who shared a few loving words about the artist.
Olivia Newton-John was unable to walk weeks before her death
Olivia Newton-John was Sandy and Didi Conn was Frenchy on the set of “Grease” in 1978, where they met and later formed a friendship that lasted forever after achieving absolute triumph in the film that bears their names catapulted into Hollywood.
They stayed together for 40 years, and Conn, 71, was responsible for spelling out what the singer-actress’ final days were like before she died at her Southern California residence alongside her only daughter and husband John Easterling.
Speaking on ABC’s Good Morning America, Newton-John’s girlfriend agreed to give an interview in which she affirmed that she spoke to the actress two weeks before her death.
Didi Conn made it clear how wonderful it was to have her as a friend and pointed out Olivia’s health condition when she was suffering from stage 4 cancer with metastases.
“She told me her health was, you know, she stopped walking and she had full-time care, but her husband John and daughter Chloe were there all the time and she told me they were desperately committed,” she said Moderators of GMA.
With these words he described how the days before his death were, when he was already in bed due to the progression of his illness.
Olivia had previously shared in an interview how she was in control of the pain she was suffering from her illness, which had already spread to her back. In 2021, he revealed that he has used medical marijuana to avoid the ravages crippling the human body in the face of intense pain caused by cancer.
Conn gave Olivia a warm smile and replied that he will always remember her. “I think I’ll remember her singing,” she said, describing the way the artist took to the stage to perform her greatest hits.
“When he gave concerts, he would sing ‘I Honestly Love You’ as an encore, reaching out to his audience to say, ‘I honestly love you.’ And I think that’s how I’ll always remember her: that big heart that cared so much for everyone. And honestly, we’ll always love her, too,” he said, with an emotional message to the public who’ve been following the life of Newton-John.
Conn highlighted the bright personality her friend always maintained, so didn’t hesitate to go on to describe how she would remember her. “He happened to sign all his letters and emails like this: ‘Love and light, Olivia,'” he said.
It was important for Olivia to always put a positive face on as a cancer patient and this was reflected in the interviews she gave in life.
It was important to her to convey a positive and exemplary message. In 2019, he reflected upon learning the cancer had returned for the third time. “Psychologically, it’s better not to have any idea of the time I have left, I don’t want to think and live to the fullest,” she said on an Australian TV show, convinced that this attitude could send a motivational message multiplied by others. (AND)