Find out Olivia Newton-John’s last words to her daughter, Chloe Lattanzi.
Olivia Newton-John’s daughter says her mother was making jokes up until the very end.
Chloe Lattanzi and Newton-John’s widower, John Easterling, sat down for their first TV interview since her death with Today’s Hoda Kotb that aired on Friday, Feb. 17.
"And right before she lost her ability to speak, she was making jokes," said Lattanzi. "The last words she could say to me was, 'My sunshine.'"
The Grease star was first married to actor Matt Lattanzi with whom she shared her daughter. They divorced in 1995.
Newton-John's long-term battle with cancer began in 1992 when she went public with her first diagnosis of breast cancer. She went on to fund the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre in Melbourne, Australia, and had been a fierce advocate for cancer treatment and research.
"I love my mom more than anything,” Lattanzi said while fighting back tears. "She’s my mama, you know? She’s not Olivia Newton-John to me, but I’m so glad that she was Olivia Newton-John for so many people."
In January 2021, ET's Rachel Smith spoke to the singer and her daughter about how their new duet, "Window in the Wall," came to be.
Though Newton-John "really had not planned on recording again," she changed her tune after receiving the song from a special source.
"This one woman who I met at a health clinic sent me a song and says, 'I have been called to send this song to you. I believe you need to record it. It was written by my cousin,'" Newton-John recalled. "I thought, 'Oh gosh, what if I hate it?'"
A final recording of the late singer will be released on Feb. 17, a duet of "Jolene" with her friend, Dolly Parton. It was recorded just months before the actress died in August 2022 at the age of 73 after a long battle with cancer.
Lattanzi says the support she has received from her mother’s fans has helped her.
“It actually has been a life raft. It has felt like a big hug from the universe," she said. "And I’m very grateful for all of the people who reached out to us and extended their heart and their connection."
Newton-John went on to marry Easterling in 2008 and was with him up until the date of her passing.
"Every day I miss Olivia terribly. And yet every day I’m really super grateful that I had 15 wonderful years with this extraordinary human being," he said. "She had the willpower, even in her most difficult times, to really bring in the light and to bring in the love. And she was who she was all the way through.”
RELATED CONTENT:
