The pop star and actor talks about her third diagnosis of cancer, taking cannabis and ayahuasca, having Karen Carpenter as her spirit guide – and why her hit film Grease shouldn’t be accused of sexism
Olivia Newton-John likes to sing to herself. Over and over, she will repeat, “I’m healthy, I’m strong” to a random melody she has picked up. “I think it’s very important to keep that positive message in your head,” she says cheerfully. “You know, if you have a difficult moment, music is always a great healer.” It is something that has kept her going during her darkest days dealing with stage four breast cancer, the third time she has been diagnosed with the illness in the past 28 years.
Sitting in the kitchen of her ranch near Santa Barbara, California, the singer radiates optimism. Her blond hair is cropped above her chin, colourful glasses perched on her nose. Now 72, she looks much younger – just as she did in 1978 when, at the age of 29, she played the high school student Sandy Olsson in the hit musical Grease.
