A Look Back At Olivia Newton-John's 40-Year Friendship With Jane Seymour

British actor Jane Seymour remembers her first friends in Hollywood after moving from her home in England: Australian-British movie star Dame Olivia Newton-John and her sister, Rona Newton-John. Seymour and Newton-John's first connection in 1976 made for an unbreakable bond, one that lasted up until Newton-John's final moments of life after losing her decades-long battle with breast cancer in 2022. Now Seymour remembers her BFF for her exuberant personality and giant heart.

The two met through Newton-John's sister, Rona, who was Seymour's roommate when they first moved to the United States together. Seymour's father, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Britain, delivered Rona's child and Newton-John's nephew, Emerson. Seymour told Access Hollywood that her father invited Newton-John's sister — who died of cancer in 2013 — over for dinner after learning of Rona's plans to move to Hollywood. "She sings," Seymour remembered her dad saying. "She has a sister in America who sings too." Upon finding out who Rona's sister was, Seymour had to explain to her father that Olivia Newton-John was no run-of-the-mill singer, but one of Hollywood's biggest up-and-coming stars.

Jane Seymour remembered being in awe of Olivia Newton-John when they first became friends, as the "Grease" star was at the height of her fame. Seymour was starting to catch up with Newton-John by starring on Broadway with Sir Ian McKellen in "Amadeus," wrapping up her 1981 film "East of Eden," and watching "Somewhere in Time" rise in popularity. Her bond with Newton-John began when Seymour told her friend she was pregnant. She remembered the "Xanadu" actor asking "How can you do it all?" (via Access Hollywood). "So, from then on, our relationship was all about 'How do you do it all?'" Seymour said.

Regarding their 40-plus-year friendship, Seymour and Newton-John certainly did it all for each other. "We shared our ups and downs and ins and outs and everything, from marriages and relationships to children to career, to health — everything," the "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" actor told "People Every Day" podcast host Janine Rubenstein, adding that she even helped her friend get her green card. "We were like confidants to one another." 

Seymour recalled going to many Vegas shows to support Newton-John, while the singer would equally support her through attending Seymour's theater performances. The pair would collaborate on charity work, and even their children worked together, telling Access Hollywood: "We kind of got off on the fact that we had these sort of slightly parallel lives."

Their decades of friendship even saw the most turbulent parts of their lives, including when Olivia Newton-John was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her diagnosis, Seymour says, did not steer her will to live, but gave her more appreciation for her life. She told Janine Rubenstein that people would insist Newton-John didn't have much time left during every stage in her battle with cancer, with which Seymour would respond: "You don't know my friend."

On her last day with the "Physical" hitmaker, Seymour remembers Newton-John's only care was to hear about how her guests — Seymour and her two sisters — were doing. "She got the day wrong," Seymour recalled to the "Today" show in 2022. "But she knew we'd travel like two-three hours to get there, and she got out of bed, got dressed, came out on a walker ... and she just sat down with us for quite a while and asked about us." The actor remembered Newton-John enamored with the nature that surrounded her home, making sure her friends took it all in with her. "She reminds me, and will always remind me every day, that life is a journey," said Seymour.

As a longtime philanthropist, Newton-John made a lasting legacy far beyond her artistry as a musician and actor, including the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre. The Melbourne, Australia hospital, funds research into breast, bowel and gastrointestinal tract, lung, skin, liver, and brain cancer, as well as provides patients with a wellness program through their individual journey with cancer. In her message on the center's website, Newton-John wrote: "My dream is that one day the ONJ Centre will be only about Wellness, and we will no longer need cancer centres because cancer will be a thing of the past."