As news of Australian icon Olivia Newton-John’s death travelled across the globe, none were more devastated than the Grease star’s beloved daughter, Chloe Lattanzi, who called her mum her “best friend” just days prior to her death.
Posting a sweet snap of herself and her mum matching in white outfits, Chloe captioned the image, “I worship this woman. My mother. My best friend. @therealonj”
As news broke of the Grease star’s death, Chloe again shared a slew of sweet snaps, including a black and white image of herself as a little girl kissing her mother’s face.
She also included a more recent shot of the pair preparing for a television interview.
Chloe broke her silence on Instagram a day after news of Olivia’s passing broke, re-posting a video of her and her mum Olivia singing Window In The Wall.
Alongside the video, Chloe penned a touching tribute, writing, “You are my lighthouse mama. My safe place. My heart space.”
“It has been my honor and continues to be my honor to be your baby and best friend.”
“You are an angel on earth and everyone touched by you has been blessed.”
“I love you forever my life-giver, my teacher, my mama.”
Watch Below: Chloe Lattanzi pays tribute to her mother Olivia Newton-John. Article continues after video.
Olivia’s death is extremely difficult for the 38-year-old, who was notoriously close with her mother and has publicly struggled with mental health and addiction issues over the years.
In a 2020 interview with 10 News First, Olivia and Chloe got candid as they discussed how Chloe has overcome drug addiction, depression, anorexia, and body dysmorphia.
Olivia gushed: “She’s doing things I never could have done. I never did anything ambitious as you are doing, darling.”
Chloe, whose father is actor Matt Lattanzi, explained how her stint on Dancing With The Stars in 2020 had been a “rebirth” for her.
“I am having the time of my life, it’s like a rebirth,” she said at the time as she explained she hopes her story will inspire others who are suffering mental from physical illnesses.
Proud mum Olivia couldn’t hold back her praise for her daughter.
“You just have a natural beauty and grace that is just so wonderful to watch, it just makes me well up,” she added.
In the time since her mother’s death, Chloe has made sure to keep Olivia’s legacy alive, especially through the annual Walk for Wellness, a yearly charity walk that raises funds for wellness programs at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Center.
“It’s so beautiful to see how many people have come out in support of my mum,” Chloe told The Today Show at the time.
“This was her heart. This is what she lived for. She saw the benefits of holistic treatments and wanted people to have access to all of those things,” she continued.
Reflecting on her first Mother’s Day without her beloved in 2023, Chloe shared a touching tribute to her Instagram.
“I hold you in my heart in every moment. I feel your wings wrapped around me at all times,” she wrote.
“I will strive to do good works in your honour and because like mother like daughter. We live in our hearts. You gave me that. You gave me all. For all those who don’t have a mother today know that I’m holding you. And for those who do wrap them in your arms and never let them go.”
Then in a rare interview with Stellar’s Something to Talk About podcast, the 38-year-old shed new light on how she keeps her beloved mother’s spirit alive, one year on from her passing.
“It’s a place where I feel a tangible, even though I feel her around me in spirit, it’s a tangible place where I feel my mother,” Chloe said of how she now resides at Olivia’s Californian ranch with her husband of 12 years James Driskill.
“Like, I can walk on the soil and be like, ‘her foot was here'”, she added.
“And I can sit on her favourite seat and know that she sat there a thousand times and just visualise sitting on her lap. She’s still alive there for me.”
In the same interview, Chloe revealed that she had big plans to follow in her mother’s footsteps with the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Center.
“I want to expand the wellness center, the kind of treatment that people can receive. I’m really grateful that I’m well enough now to continue her legacy.”
Yet in mid-August, Chloe confessed in a video shared to Instagram she had been battling with “health issues” after “neglecting” herself.
“Since my mum’s passing and the year and a half with her going through cancer, I have not been okay,” she explained. “If I have forgotten to return your calls — I’ve had extreme memory loss, I’ve had difficulty getting out of bed. I’ve stuck to my commitments but I have been neglecting myself.
“One of my mum’s biggest messages was ‘take care of you’. If you don’t take care of you, you cannot give your full capacity of love, wisdom, kindness and power to everyone else.”
Fast forward to September 2024, Chloe shared a heartfelt tribute to Instagram to mark what would have been Olivia’s 76th birthday.
“I yearn for you every day mama. I feel your warm presence standing beside me and burning within me, giving me strength and reminding me to be strong and vulnerable, to use my voice, and to love myself so my heart can be of absolute service to others.”
To mark the occasion, she also released her new song ‘Pheonix’, which she says was inspired by her mother’s life and legacy.
“I co-wrote the song ‘Pheonix’ for my mom as a promise to fly, to know my own worth, and to make sure to love myself,” the singer shared with PEOPLE.
“So I’m really excited to release this song in her honor. And for anyone who’s struggling with issues of the body, the mind, or the spirit, I want it to be a reminder to them that they are incredibly more powerful than they could ever imagine. You are not what has happened to you, and you are not the illness that you have. You are eternal, bright light,” she added.
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