MELBOURNE         -       Thousands of people have paid their respects to the late Australian actress and singer Olivia Newton-John at a state memorial in her home city of Melbourne. The 73-year-old died in August in the United States following a long battle with breast cancer. Newton-John was best known for her role as Sandy in the iconic 1978 film Grease and for musical hits such as Physical.

Her daughter, Chloe Lattanzi, has said that her heart is “broken in two”. “I stand here before you so desperately wanting to feel strong and confident and speak eloquently but the truth is, I feel like a little girl lost without her mother,” said Ms Lattanzi while fighting back tears at the service at Hamer Hall.

“She was my safe space, my guide, my biggest fan and the earth beneath my feet.” Newton-John’s widower, John Easterling, also became emotional while talking about his late wife. “We’d each had some hard times in our life before like everyone has and we’re just talking about how lucky we were to have found each other,” he said. “Every day with Olivia was supernatural. Every day with Olivia was a bit of magic.”