Netflix is making a documentary about Olivia Newton-John, three years on from her death.
The Australian actress, singer and beloved entertainment personality passed away in August 2022, after a long battle with breast cancer.
The documentary, which is being directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nicole Newnham, will explore Olivia’s global rise to fame and the personal struggles she faced off the screen.
It will feature clips of Olivia telling her own story, plus archival footage and interviews from close friends and collaborators.
“This is the story of a woman who was perpetually underestimated despite her mesmerising talent, ultimately silencing her detractors by pushing through phenomenal loss and pain with grace and gratitude,” the media release from Netflix read. “By discovering how to stay true to her beliefs, Olivia changed our culture for the better, bending it towards kindness, inclusivity, and love.”
The documentary is currently untitled but there could be a clue in this statement from director Nicole Newnham.
“Olivia always signed her letters ‘love and light’ and that is the shimmering and hopeful legacy she has left us. As a young girl, I fell in love with her, listening to Grease on the record player on repeat. But this unique filmmaking journey – deep into the archives and into the amazing community of Olivia’s close friends and family – has revealed a complex and extraordinary woman whose impact on the world is still rippling outwards.”
In 1965, Olivia got her first big break when she appeared on the Australian televised talent show Sing, Sing, Sing and won. In 1971, she released her first solo album If Not For You and she would later become a global household name when she was cast in Grease alongside John Travolta.
She continued to work in the music and film industry throughout her life starring in films such as Xanadu and releasing over 26 studio albums.
In her later life, Olivia faced her fair share of troubles including being diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time when she was just 44 years old. In 2005, her on-again off-again partner Patrick McDermott disappeared while on an overnight fishing trip off the coast of California.
In 2017, it was announced that Olivia’s breast cancer had returned and metastasised to her lower back. She passed away five years later, when she was 73.
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