Olivia Newton-John: 'Life is full of surprises'

Olivia Newton-John has revealed that life is full of surprises.

The Australian singer, who rose to fame playing Sandy in 1978 John Travolta musical film Grease, recently released a collection of healthy living recipes called Livwise.

Newton-John told The Australian that the book was "an idea given to [her] by a friend as a fundraising tool" for the Melbourne cancer centre that she founded in 2008 after her battle with cancer almost 20 years ago.

She said: "I never saw myself writing a cook book. That was the last thing I thought I'd write - and yet here I am. You never know in life. You just have to be open to stuff.

"You learn from the things that didn't work out, but I like to go forwards, not backwards. To take more time off would be my ambition now; bigger chunks of time, but then I always think I've done it all and then something interesting will come along that I'd like to do."

Newton-John said that her charity work, worldwide cabaret performances and recipe book release are all "an excuse to come back to Australia", but admitted that she "loves" Florida, where she lives with husband John Easterling.

She recently revealed that she is "looking forward" to her daughter Chloe Lattanzi's upcoming wedding to James Driskill. She has previously said that her child has "grown" because of her husband-to-be's love.