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Olivia Newton-John died on Monday at the age of 73, and she was remembered as an iconic singer, actress, advocate for cancer research, and a devoted mother to her only daughter, Chloe Lattanzi.
On Tuesday, the 36-year-old actress and singer, who’s father is Newton-John’s ex-husband, Matt Lattanzi, shared a touching video tribute to her “lighthouse mama.”
The post included behind-the-scenes footage from the recording of their duet “Window in the Wall.”
“You are my lighthouse mama. My safe place. My heart space. It has been my honor and continues to be my honor to be your baby and best friend. You are an angel on earth and everyone touched by you has been blessed. I love you forever my life giver, my teacher, my mama,” she captioned the video.
Lattanzi recently relocated from the cannabis farm she owned with fiancé James Driskill in Portland, Oregon, back down to California in July to live with her mom.
“We officially moved out of our house in Portland,” she wrote on Facebook. “In the truck my man towing the uhaul. So excited to get back to my mama! Here’s to a new chapter!!!”
Lattanzi admitted it was difficult at times to grow up as the daughter of a legendary performer but that they were both fiercely protective of each other.
OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN’S DAUGHTER CHLOE LATTANZI HONORS LATE ‘GREASE’ STAR WITH EMOTIONAL TRIBUTE
Olivia Newton-John, left, and daughter Chloe Lattanzi, shown in 2016, were fiercely close and protective of each other.
(Paul Redmond)
“I think it’s hard to be the child of a person in the limelight, I really understand that,” she said during an interview with “60 Minutes” in 2016.
“There’s privilege, but there’s also other things that come along with that.”
Lattanzi starred on the MTV singing competition “Rock the Cradle” in 2008, where she finished in third place. During the show, she recalled feeling a sense of loneliness growing up.
“I spent a lot of time alone in big houses,” she said. “My mom traveled a lot, so I think I missed out a lot when I was younger.”
But there were still many fond times for Lattanzi as she wrote about her childhood being full of “magical memories” with her “hero” mother in an op-ed penned for Woman’s Day in 2018.
“To most people she is Olivia Newton-John, the star, but to me she is simply my mum and I couldn’t be more thankful for that.”
Singer and actress Olivia Newton-John, with daughter Chloe and former husband Matt Lattanzi. The actor and the singer called it quits in 1995.
(News Ltd / Newspix)
Daughter Chloe Lattanzi, left, and husband John Easterling, center, support Olivia Newton-John, right, in 2019 at her annual walk for her cancer research and wellness center in Australia.
(Sam Tabone)
Lattanzi struggled with anxiety and addiction, and recalled a conversation where her mother admitted she “felt powerless” to help.
“We were just talking about it and she said to me, ‘I did everything I could. I sent you to every specialist, every person I thought might be able to help,’” Lattanzi wrote.
“I told her, ‘You know Mum, all I really needed was you.’ She looked at me and finally realised the power she has – that her love is the most powerful healing tool in the world.”
She wrote about the “awful” first time her mother faced a cancer diagnosis and how she became “extremely protective” of the “Xanadu” star.
With Newton-John’s more recent battle, Lattanzi said her “whole world was collapsing” and she was angry for her mother but was also inspired by her power of positive thinking. They both tried to protect each other.
“What cancer has done for Mum and me is to remind us to take every moment we can to enjoy each other,” she wrote. “We’ve been through a lot together, but not a day goes by when I’m not happy and proud to call her my mum.”
Chloe Lattanzi, left, and mother Olivia Newton-John, right, celebrate the 35th anniversary of “Xanadu” with the world premiere of their music video, “You Have to Believe,” at Share Nightclub, Aug. 9, 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
(Bryan Steffy)
When Lattanzi competed on Australia’s “Dancing with the Stars” in 2020, Newton-John was emotional in the audience during one of her daughter’s performances.
“I am so proud … I’m so proud and my heart is beating so fast, and I’m trying not to cry,” she said, “You were so beautiful, darling. You did such a wonderful job. It was just gorgeous.”
Lattanzi and her mom collaborated on the single “The Window in the Wall” in January 2021, a follow-up to their 2016 hit “You Have to Believe.”
“There is always something special about singing with my daughter,” Newton-John said in a press release. “She not only has a gorgeous voice, she’s an amazing musician with tremendous instincts as a singer.”
When they were quarantined in California together due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Newton-John loved the time she had to reconnect with her daughter.
Chloe Lattanzi, left, supported her mother just as much as Olivia Newton-John, right, supported her. They are pictured at a walk in 2019 for Newton-John’s cancer research and wellness center in Australia.
(Getty Images)
“I worked my whole life, and the longest period I can remember being home was my pregnancy with Chloe and the first year or two of her life,” Newton-John told People magazine. “So it’s been wonderful reconnecting with my baby. She is my reason to be.”
Newton-John died “peacefully at her Ranch in Southern California this morning, surrounded by family and friends,” her family shared on Monday.
“We ask that everyone please respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time. Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer.”
The “Hopelessly Devoted to You” songstress was known just as much for her top hits, including “Physical” and “You’re the One That I Want,” as she was for her starring role alongside John Travolta in “Grease.”
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“Her healing inspiration and pioneering experience with plant medicine continues with the Olivia Newton-John Foundation Fund, dedicated to researching plant medicine and cancer. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any donations be made in her memory to the @onjfoundation,” the family said.
“Olivia is survived by her husband John Easterling; daughter Chloe Lattanzi; sister Sarah Newton-John; brother Toby Newton-John; nieces and nephews Tottie, Fiona and Brett Goldsmith; Emerson, Charlie, Zac, Jeremy, Randall, and Pierz Newton-John; Jude Newton-Stock, Layla Lee; Kira and Tasha Edelstein; and Brin and Valerie Hall.”
Olivia Newton-John and John Easterling married in 2008 in Peru after meeting through friends 15 years before. They are pictured in 2015.
(Rodin Eckenroth)
Actors John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John embrace in a promotional still for the film “Grease,” directed by Randal Kleiser in 1978.
(Paramount Pictures/Fotos International)
Three days before her death, Lattanzi shared a photo of her mother and wrote, “I worship this woman. My mother. My best friend.”
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John Travolta shared a heartfelt tribute on Instagram to his former “Grease” costar. “My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better. Your impact was incredible. I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the moment I saw you and forever! Your Danny, your John!”
Songs she sang in the American classic, “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” and the duets with Travolta, “You’re the One That I Want” and “Summer Nights,” ranked on the top Billboard hits for the year.
The movie, which also starred Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway, Didi Conn and Michael Tucci, was filmed on a $6 million budget at Venice High School, John Marshall High School and Huntington Park High in Los Angeles. It went on to make more than $396 million worldwide.
Newton-John embarked on the project after already finding success as a singer, and earned her first of four Grammy Awards in 1973 with the Best Female Country Vocalist trophy for “Let Me Be There.”
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