NEED TO KNOW
- Netflix announced on Tuesday, June 24, that a new documentary about Olivia Newton-John will be released on the streaming service
- The untitled project will be directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nicole Newnham
- The streamer did not announce when the film will be released
Olivia Newton-John fans will get an entirely new look at the late actress and her career in an upcoming documentary.
Netflix announced on Tuesday, June 24, that a new documentary directed by Nicole Newnham will come to the streamer, a Netflix spokesperson confirmed to PEOPLE. Newnham’s 2020 Netflix documentary Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution, earned an Oscar nomination.
The untitled film will explore “the music, life, and magic of beloved pop star and cultural phenom Olivia Newton-John,” according to a release, per Deadline, which was the first to report the news. “In her own words, through vivid archival and via reminiscences from close friends and collaborators, we’ll follow Olivia’s journey as the world falls madly in love with her and she ascends to the height of fame, only to be confronted by challenges of epic proportions.”
“This is the story of a woman who was perpetually underestimated despite her mesmerizing talent, ultimately silencing her detractors by pushing through phenomenal loss and pain with grace and gratitude,” the release read. “By discovering how to stay true to her beliefs, Olivia changed our culture for the better, bending it towards kindness, inclusivity, and love.”
“Olivia always signed her letters ‘love and light’ and that is the shimmering and hopeful legacy she has left us,” Newnham said, per Deadline. “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.”
The documentary will be produced by R.J. Cutler and his production company This Machine, which previously worked on Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, Elton John: Never Too Late and Martha.
Newton-John died of breast cancer in August 2022. She was 73. She announced in May 2017 that she was diagnosed with breast cancer, which had metastasized to the sacrum.
Newton-John was born in the U.K. in 1948, before her family moved to Australia when she was 5 years old. After winning an Australian TV talent contest, she began touring with Pat Farrar for their act Pat & Olivia. By 1971, her solo career had kicked off, with two albums – If Not For You and Olivia.
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In 1978, the 12-time Grammy nominee’s acting career took off with Grease, in which she starred opposite John Travolta. The Golden Globe nominee then starred in the 1980 musical, Xanadu, before later appearing with Travolta again in 1983’s Two of a Kind. Despite a few other film and television roles, Newton-John’s focus returned to music.
In 1992, she revealed her first diagnosis with breast cancer. Her battle — which included a partial mastectomy, chemotherapy and breast reconstruction — ultimately led to the creation of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre in Melbourne. Newton-John spent the rest of her life as an advocate for cancer awareness and research.
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