Wilson, 41, who co-starred with Newton-John in the 2011 comedy film A Few Best Men,posted a lengthy tribute to the Grease actress, who died on Monday (US time) aged 72.In the emotional post, Wilson went into detail about how the Aussie duo bonded on the set of the movie, adding it took her “years” to heed some of Newton-John’s health advice.“You tried to teach me about health years before I took it seriously,” shared Wilson, who famously shed a whopping 35kg after going on a health kick in 2020.Wilson added: “You were so king to me and it was such a blessing to know you Olivia. I’ll never forget us singing at the piano in our lunch break on set together – what a complete legend you are!”Wilson, who hails from Sydney but is currently based in the US, also revealed the impact Newton-John had on her career when she was starting out.“Seeing you star in the huge Hollywood blockbuster Grease with your natural accent was so instrumental to me as a little girl, helping me to believe that is was possible for an Aussie girl to star in huge international musicals,” wrote Wilson, who starred in three Pitch Perfect films with her native accent.She added: “You were the reason I auditioned for my high school production of Grease at 15 – I was only in the chorus, but it was a start!“I am so sad you are gone. Love and Light always to you ONJ.”Health and wellness became Newton-John’s passion after first finding out she had breast cancer in 1992.Her 30-year-long fight saw her undergo a partial mastectomy, chemotherapy and breast reconstruction. While she stayed positive for years, by 2020, she was facing stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.Over the years, the late Australian singer, actor and entrepreneur had invested in her Olivia Newton-John Cancer & Wellness Centre at Melbourne’s Austin Hospital.She established the facility in 2012 at a cost of $189 million, with state and federal funding and philanthropic support.In 2005, she co-founded the award-winning Gaia Retreat & Spa, a health retreat in the Bunjalung Country of Byron Bay, a region known as the healing heartland of Australia.She also launched the Olivia Newton-John Foundation in recent years.“The idea is to fund research into kinder ways to treat cancer, to prevent cancer, and to live well with cancer,” she said in a 2020 interview with Forbes.She added: “So (as a result of) all those things, I believe, we will eventually see a world beyond it where it’s just treated as any other illness that you can kind of control and live well with and, of course, hopefully cure it. Living well is something that I do, and I’m hoping that I can help others do that.”There has been an outpouring of grief around the world in the wake of Newton-John’s death, with her family accepting Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ offer for a state funeral to honour her legacy.
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