Olivia Newton-John has fought cancer three times, and has used her fame to bring awareness and funding towards treatment for others. She even has a cancer research institute named after her.
A few years back, Olivia auctioned off some of her movie props and items used in the iconic 1978 film Grease to raise funds for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute. Some of the items sold were her leather jacket and pants, a Pink Ladies jacket the crew gifted her with, the prom dress she wore to the movie’s premiere.
The leather jacket she wore in the final scene of the film went for an astonishing $243,200 to an anonymous buyer.
After the auction was over, Olivia said of the items, "I’m fond of all of them, because they all have memories and, you know, incredible moments associated with them. But I have learned, with, you know, going through things in my life, that things are things and that’s not what’s important, but the memories are. So I feel very happy that, you know, these are things, and I’m not gonna take them with me, so better that somebody else enjoys them now."
Incredibly, the man who bought the leather jacket chose to return it to her in December 2019 and it was all caught on video. Olivia seems happy to get the jacket back, but even more touched by the man's gesture and kindness.