Olivia Newton-John WASN'T AFRAID OF DYING in farewell call, says niece Tottie Goldsmith
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: While showing up on Australia's 'A Current Affair' program Monday a few days after Olivia Newton-John's death at age 73, Tottie Goldsmith, her niece, shared that she got the opportunity to bid farewell only a couple of days prior. The 59-year-old said while she couldn't come to Newton-John's California home in time, but the late actress and singer's husband, John Easterling, was able to connect the two over FaceTime. Goldsmith said, "I managed to see her, and told her all the things I needed to say and wanted to say."
Goldsmith spoke on behalf of her brother and sister and said that Newton-John was "more than a mother" to her and her siblings and that the icon was "an incredible part of their lives." Goldsmith is the daughter of Rona Newton-John, who died at the age of 70 from brain cancer in 2013.
READ MORE
'Prayer is very powerful': Olivia Newton-John's pact with God to save daughter's life while pregnant
Apparently, the 'Grease' star had a "susceptible immune system" which eventually led her to getting "secondary infections" from her time in the hospital, according to Goldsmith. The star was open about her health issues since announcing her breast cancer diagnosis in 1992. Her aunt died at her ranch in South California. The actress added, "It's not a shock, we've known how sick she's been, especially the last five days." Goldsmith recalled when Newton-John was taking therapy at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute in Melbourne and inquiring as to whether she was "afraid of dying" as she was appearing, "really skinny and really unwell." The actress added, ""She said, 'Plonker', which was my nickname to her, she said, 'I'm not, I'm not afraid, I've done more in my life than I could have ever imagined. She honestly never imagined her life would be how it was." She noted that her belief was that her aunt's cancer center and those who were helping her is "what kept her going." Adding to it she said, "The cancer center was more important to her than, not her family — Chloe and John and us, but more than her career."
When asked by host Tracy Grimshaw about what Newton-John was generally glad for, Goldsmith teared up and named the star's little girl Chloe Lattanzi. Grimshaw likewise said that Newton-John's family had been offered a state funeral service for her, and Goldsmith said they intend to acknowledge it. She added, "We will, on behalf of not just our family, but I think Australia needs it. She's so loved."