Olivia Newton-John spent three days with her sister in Ferreira de Pantón in 2019. Diners recognised the actress at a local restaurant and asked for photographs, Sarah Newton-John recalled in an interview with Vanitatis.
Sarah, Olivia’s half-sister, said the family spent the visit together. Olivia and her relatives stayed at Balneario Augas Santas, ate at the Mosteiro restaurant and took a walk with Sarah’s dog. They also had coffee at Casa Antonio in Goián. Olivia rested in Sarah’s bedroom and liked seeing the renovated house.
She was especially taken with the garden and the calm of the village. After leaving Galicia for work in Dublin, Olivia called Sarah from her home in California and said she would like a small stone house nearby. The two might then have been neighbours.
The plan did not go further. Sarah said Olivia later told her that, at 71 and with stage-four cancer, she would visit too rarely to buy a home there. They hoped to meet again at the ceremony for Olivia’s appointment as a Dame of the British Empire in Edinburgh in early 2020, but the COVID pandemic intervened. They never saw each other again.
Olivia died in August 2022. Sarah and local residents marked her memory by watching Grease together in the village square that year. Ferreira de Pantón, in Lugo, had become Sarah’s home after she and her partner Heather moved from Australia in May 2018 and bought the only house they liked in the area.
Sarah said Heather had researched the Ribeira Sacra before the move. They initially planned to run an Airbnb from the house, but a change to Xunta regulations in January 2020 prevented them from renting out the upper floor. Galicia’s Decree 12/2017, adopted on 26 January 2017 and published in the official gazette on 10 February, regulates tourist apartments, tourist homes and dwellings for tourist use, including properties marketed by private individuals. On 25 April 2017, Spain’s competition regulator, the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC), said it had notified the Xunta about provisions it considered capable of obstructing effective competition. The CNMC later called for a review of tourist-housing rules across Spain, citing differences among regional and local regulations and the need for requirements to be necessary and proportionate. Sarah now works independently as a book editor, which provides their income. After 30 years in full-time work, she wanted a slower pace; she says the village’s quiet and sense of community suit her better than city life.
Sarah described Olivia as a romantic with quiet strength, deep empathy and lasting loyalty to family and friends. The sisters shared a father, though Olivia always called Sarah her sister. Olivia was 18 years older, and after the release of Grease, when Sarah was 12, she was already a superstar. They did not live together, but Olivia often visited Sydney. Sarah said Olivia would ask about her love life. She eventually explained in a letter that she was a lesbian because she had felt too embarrassed to say so in person.
Sarah also recalled that Olivia used the name “Hazel Jackson” when booking hotels to avoid fans. She said her sister valued close relationships and stayed grounded despite her fame. Olivia had lived with cancer for 30 years and, Sarah said, “never took a single day for granted” (translated from Spanish). Sarah recalled that Olivia was proud of her daughter Chloe and her album Gaia, both its writing and performance.
Olivia’s memory remains part of village life. RUSSPAIN has also covered another Spanish story in its report on the Urda rail crash. Sarah remembered Olivia’s message sign-offs as “Amor y luz, Olivia”.
