Olivia Newton John at Home: 10 Photos of the Pop Darling’s Downtime Through the Decades

From her Malibu ranch to a sprawling plot in Australia, the Grease superstar found refuge in animals and life in the countrysideOlivia Newton-John (pictured with Irish setter Geordie) was an animal lover, who owned horses, dogs, and cats over the years.Photo: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesFor all the time Dame Olivia Newton-John spent in the spotlight, she seemed happiest escaping it. The English-born, Australian-raised singer was an animal lover with a proclivity for wide-open green spaces and purposely spent her life surrounded by both.At 17 years old the promising talent left the land down under for London after winning a televised singing contest. With what one 1960s journalist dubbed “one of those very pretty toothpaste-ad faces,” Newton-John’s sweet-as-pie image proved irresistible. Songs like “If Not for You” made her a rising star by the early ’70s. But it was 1978’s Grease, with its soundtrack hits “You’re the One That I Want” and “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” that catapulted her to global superstardom. By then Newton-John had purchased a Malibu ranch where she would live for nearly 18 years. In the early ’80s she acquired a sprawling Australian retreat, which she held on to for almost four decades.Those peaceful surroundings would be the icon’s respite in the wake of her 1992 breast cancer diagnosis. She battled the disease on and off for 30 years, channeling her energy into research and wellness advocacy while maintaining the signature positivity that defined her career and public persona. “I’m not a victim and I don’t want to be one,” she once told CBS Mornings. “I feel what has happened to me has happened for a purpose.”Read on for a photo roundup of the pop sensation in her downtime.The singing duo outside their London home. Photo: Cyrus Andrews/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesTwo Aussies in LondonOnly a few months after her move to London, Newton-John’s friend and fellow singer Pat Carroll also made the leap from Australia to the big city. Carroll wound up living with Newton-John and her mother in their Hampstead mews apartment for two years. Per Newton-John, they were “sleeping on the floor on a blow-up mattress. It was great because you don’t know any different. We were young girls.”Carroll and Newton-John at home in the ’60s Photo: Cyrus Andrews/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesPat and OliviaNewton-John began tagging along with Carroll to her nightclub gigs to keep the raven-haired singer company. They soon decided that they’d gain more traction in the industry as a team and formed the duo Pat and Carroll. “At home it was okay. You know all the boys and producers. Everyone. Over here [in London] you hardly know a soul,” Carroll once told a newspaper. “That’s why we decided to team up. It’s easy to get to know people in the business when there are two of you.” The pair went on to play at multiple nightclubs and pubs around the city and made several television appearances, but eventually had to split up when Carroll’s visa expired and she was forced to return to Australia. The two are seen here at the Hampstead apartment (perhaps sitting on that blow-up mattress?) in 1966.Newton-John at home with Welch, her then-fiance Photo: Chris Ware/Keystone Features/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesSun goddessTV Week took this 1970 shot in the expansive backyard of the Georgian-style house 21-year-old Newton-John shared with her then-fiance, 28-year-old Bruce Welch of the rock group The Shadows. The rising star took full advantage of the bucolic surroundings of her Hadley Common neighborhood in Hertfordshire, a wealthy town on the northern edge of London. “At the first sign of sunshine I’m out sun-bathing in the back garden,” she told the outlet. “That’s what I miss about Australia, the sun.”Newton-John pictured in the garden with her dog. Photo: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesFor the love of animalsNewton-John was snapped here playing with her Red Setter Geordie, a gift from Welch, during the same TV Week shoot. The songstress was a passionate animal lover and advocate; she even hosted an Australian television series called Human Nature, which saw her galloping around the world to report on animals and their habitats. “My biggest expense, more than clothes or anything, is the care of the animals, the food and everything,” Newton-John once told Ladies Home Journal.Newton-John and Welch having some tea at home. Photo: Chris Ware/Getty Images/Keystone Features/Hulton ArchiveHadley CommonsAlthough Newton-John and Welch lived together in Hadley Commons for most of their relationship, the entertainer kept a flat near Carnaby Street to stay at whenever she had engagements in London. Newton-John ended her relationship with Welch in 1972.Newton-John in Malibu in July 1976 Photo: Kent Gavin/Mirrorpix/Getty ImagesCountry girlThe early 1970s brought Stateside success for Newton-John. Sometime between 1975 and 1976 the entertainer bought a three-acre Malibu property surrounded by protected parkland. A two-story home on the ranch boasted a primary suite which sprawled out over the entire second floor. There was also a pool, tennis court, a barn, and meandering pathways, all bordered by lush vegetation. With fresh air and ample room for her animals, spending time in the bucolic setting excited the singer, who wound up living there for almost 18 years. “I love being in the country and this is as close to the country as I can be without being too far from town,” she once said in an interview. The “I Honestly Love You” singer sits poolside with three of her dogs in this 1976 image.“I thought of being a vet. But then again, I figured I had to go to medical school and science wasn’t a good subject for me, so I dropped the idea pretty soon,” the star once told Interview magazine. Photo: Kent Gavin/Mirrorpix/Getty ImagesThe almost veterinarianAt the Malibu ranch, the singer was finally able to indulge her childhood fantasies of living with a multitude of animals. “I was always bringing home strays,” Newton-John once told Ladies Home Journal about her childhood, “But Mum wasn’t crazy about animals and I wasn’t allowed to keep them.” Her love for animals was so intense, the Xanadu actor gave serious thought to becoming a vet when she was a child.Newton-John at the property with a small group of her animals Photo: Kent Gavin/Mirrorpix/Getty ImagesAnimal kingdom“It’s like a zoo,” Newton-John once said of the animals she kept at the ranch. Judge, shown in this 1976 photo, was the singer’s favorite horse. She also owned a Tennessee walker named Copy Jay, an Appaloosa filly called Eloise, and other horses named George, Alex, and Pipes. Within Newton-John’s Malibu brood, there were also the Great Danes named Zargon, Domino, and Gretchen, as well as her Irish Setter Jackson. “I have four cats, nine dogs at the moment, and five horses. They’re fabulous. I ride them all at once,” she said in 1977.”Newton-John checking out blueprints at home. Photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage/Getty ImagesA tree-lined retreatIn 1981, Newton-John bought 187 acres of land in a rural area 40 minutes from the hipster beach town of Byron Bay in New South Wales, Australia. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom country home was the singer’s respite from the chaos of fame. The hilltop residence offered expansive views of its neighboring plot, which was the Victoria Park Nature Reserve. In addition to a tennis court, the property featured a pond, a creek, two dams, a natural waterfall, and eventually 5,000 trees added by Newton-John. This image shows the Grammy winner looking over home renovation plans in 2002.Newton-John at home on a floral sofa Photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage/Getty ImagesDesign inspirationTaking on the task of decorator, the “Physical” singer transformed the Byron Bay house’s interiors into a rustic, French-inspired retreat. As told by her business partner Gregg Cave, Newton-John designed the interiors around four salvaged gothic church doors, placing two at the home’s entrance and the other two at the entrance to the primary suite. She also added pine floors, wood-beam ceilings, gothic-style pew-like benches, and a wall surfaced with stones and seashells from the local beach. Newton-John sold the property in 2019 as visits to Australia found her staying more often at Gaia, the nearby luxury wellness retreat she established in 2005. The icon died of cancer in her Southern California ranch in 2022.Not a subscriber? Join AD for print and digital access now.Browse the AD PRO Directory to find an AD-approved design expert for your next project.Michelle Duncan is a Brooklyn-based independent writer and editorial consultant, specializing in stories and written communication centered around design. She covers interiors, architecture, art, and fashion. Apart from AD, her bylines have appeared in Robb Report and Metropolis, among others. Michelle holds an M.A. in Design Research, Writing & Criticism from the School of ... Read MoreRead MoreBette Davis at Home: See Inside the Golden Age Trailblazer’s Abodes From Coast to CoastThe All About Eve star once claimed she had lived in at least 75 dwellings throughout her life: “I acquired houses as other women acquire jewels.”Rock Hudson at Home: 10 Photos of Hollywood’s Quintessential Leading Man in His LA SanctuariesThe Golden Age icon’s longtime SoCal estate was purchased for him as part of his Universal contract renewalWhere Does Naomi Osaka Live? 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