John Travolta leads emotional celebrity tributes to Olivia Newton-John as the legendary Grease star passes away aged 73

John Travolta led the tributes to Olivia Newton-John, his former Grease co-star, who died aged 73 on Monday. 

The British-Australian actor and singer passed away "peacefully" at her Ranch in Southern California yesterday, after a 30-year-long journey with breast cancer. 

Rising to international stardom with her breakthrough role as Sandy Olsson in the hit 1978 musical film, Grease, Dame Olivia quickly became a household name in Hollywood and was widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 1980s. 

She also had her fair share of low points, however, receiving her first breast cancer diagnosis in 1992. The 'Physical' singer would privately fight the disease again in 2013, before going public with her third, and final, diagnosis in 2017. 

In 2020, Olivia Newton-John opened up about her 'overwhelming' breast cancer experience, urging women to attend their mammogram appointments and announcing the launch of the Olivia Newton-John Foundation. 

John Travolta, who who played Sandy's romantic interest, Danny Zuko in Grease, was one of the first celebrities to share his reaction to the sad news that his former co-star had died on Monday. Captioning a stunning photo of a younger Olivia Newton-John, the 68-year-old gushed about the late entertainer's 'impact' on the world and promised to reunite with her in the future. 

"My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better," he said. "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 first moment I saw you and forever!
Your Danny, your John!" 

John's sweet words were followed by Kylie Minogue, who revealed that she has "loved and looked up to Olivia Newton-John" since she was "ten years old." 

"She was, and always will be, an inspiration to me in so many, many ways," the Australian singer wrote on Instagram. "My deepest condolences to her family and loved ones." 

Oprah was another A-list star to honor Olivia's legacy, taking to Twitter to share a sweet memory about her 'spontaneous dinner' with the Grammy-award winner. 

“Her positivity was so infectious,” the US talk show host wrote. “You’ll be missed, Olivia. Here’s to the good times.”

Sir Rod Stewart also paid tribute to his "great friend Olivia Newton John" on Twitter, hailing her as "the perfect Lady" who was "gorgeous, with great poise and with a certain Aussie  sophistication." He added a touch of humor to his sweet note, recalling how "her spandex trousers in Grease were my inspiration for my ‘Da ya think I’m Sexy‘ era." 

Olivia's husband, John Easterlin, called the Aussie icon "a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer" and credited her contribution to the work of "plant medicine and cancer." 

The singer-songwriter had long been a devout advocate of holistic remedies, openly using medicinal cannabis to ease her symptoms as the cancer progressed. Speaking in 2022, Olivia said that the "healing plant" should be made "available to everyone who is going through a chronic illness or pain" and repeatedly advocated for the drug to be legalized in Australia.