Olivia Newton-John to get state memorial in Australia

Screen legend Olivia Newton-John will be honoured with a state memorial service in her adoptive homeland Australia, authorities said Thursday, touting an upbeat sendoff for the late Grammy-winning actress.

The British-born, Aussie-raised star of the 1978 hit musical “Grease” died on Monday at her home in Southern California.

The cause of death was not stated, but the 73-year-old Newton-John had spent three decades trying to — as she put it — “win over” breast cancer. 

Victoria state Premier Dan Andrews said Newton-John’s family had accepted the offer of a state memorial that “would be much more of a concert than a funeral”.

“It will be an appropriate celebration of such a rich and generous life.”

A date for the memorial has not yet been set.

Her widower, John Easterling, on Thursday posted a tribute to her and thanked fans for the “vast ocean of love and support” that has come with her passing.

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“She was the most courageous woman I’ve ever known,” he said.

“In her most difficult times she always had the spirit, the humor, and the will power to move things into the light.”

The entertainer, whose career spanned more than five decades, devoted much of her time and celebrity to charities after first being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992.

The British-born and Australian-raised star dedicated a number of albums and concerts to raise funds for research and early detection of the disease, including the construction of a health centre named after her in her adopted home Melbourne. 

“I don’t like to say ‘battled’,” a defiant Newton-John told Australia’s Channel Seven TV in September 2018 after revealing she had been diagnosed with cancer for a third time. 

“I like to say ‘win over’, because ‘battled’ sets up this anger and inflammation that you don’t want.”