Olivia Newton-John has long been one of my favorite artists. So I was intrigued when I ran across this article about her Jewish ancestry. Following is a teaser from the article written by Seth Rogovoy and posted at forward.com March 25, 2019.
In a recent celebrity memoir, the author writes, “In 1933, my Jewish grandfather fled from Germany with his wife, Hedwig, to escape Hitler’s regime. He was not only a brilliant mind but also a humanitarian who helped Jews escape Germany. I’m extremely proud of my peace-loving grandfather.” The grandfather was Nobel Prize-winning physicist Max Born, one of the founders of quantum mechanics and a longtime friend of Albert Einstein. The granddaughter, which might come as a surprise to some, is Olivia Newton-John.
In fact, the English-born Australian singer/actress has plenty of yikhes to spread around. Her maternal great-grandfather was prominent German-Jewish jurist Victor Ehrenberg; her father was a British intelligence officer who took Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess into custody during World War II; and she also traces her ancestry back to Protestant theologian Martin Luther.
Listen to Olivia Newton-John sing Let Me Be There (with lyrics) at YouTube – one of my favorites – the ultimate feel-good song.
