How Olivia Newton-John’s Iconic ‘Grease’ Outfit Influenced Generations

With the news of Olivia Newton-John passing away from her battle against stage four breast cancer, many share their tributes to the music and movie icon including Grease co-star John Travolta, Barbra Streisand and Mario Lopez.

Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta appear in “Grease,” released in 1978. Paramount Pictures/Moviepix

Newton-John’s iconic character from the 1978 musical, Grease, will be remembered for decades to come. Sandy started the movie off as a “good girl” wearing long pretty skirts with bright colors. But at the end of the movie, she surprised her boyfriend, Danny Zuko, by showing off that she was a “bad girl” by wearing leather jackets and skin-tight black look with a leather jacket to match her boyfriend.

Many celebrities from different generations have dressed up as Sandy Olsson for Halloween over the years and Newsweek takes a look at the best of the best.

Gigi Hadid Gigi Hadid attends Heidi Klum’s Halloween Party on October 31st, 2015 in New York City. Andrew Toth/WireImage

Model Gigi Hadid dressed as Sandy Olsson for Heidi Klum’s Halloween party on October 31, 2015, in New York City. Hadid’s inspired look comes from Sandy’s costume at the end of Grease.

Kate Upton

Model and actress Kate Upton dressed up in the iconic outfit Sandy wore when she sang “You’re The One That I Want” at the carnival. Upton’s husband, Justin Verlander, dressed as Danny.

Jenny McCarthy On October 29th, 2014, McCarthy dresses as Sandy from “Grease” as she celebrates the launch of her daily talk show on Sirius XM, “Dirty, Sexy, Funny with Jenny McCarthy.” Laura Cavanaugh/FilmMagic

In celebration of her daily talk show on Sirius XM, Dirty, Sexy, Funny with Jenny McCarthy back in 2014, McCarthy showed off her version of Sandy just in time for Halloween on October 29.

Leann Rimes

To celebrate the release of Grease: Live, which premiered on FOX in 2016, the country singer shared her rendition of their Grease costumes.

“We had so much fun one Halloween as Sandy and Danny. One of the best films of all time,” she wrote.

Hailey Bieber Hailey Bieber shared her Sandy costume on her Instagram story. Hailey Bieber/Instagram

Posted to her Instagram story, Bieber shared that she was Sandy on the first Halloween she was living in New York City on her own.

Jessica Simpson

Jessica Simpson took to social media to share a Halloween-themed family photo in 2016. Simpson and her husband dressed as the Grease couple all while exclaiming that it was the first year her children were able to choose their own costumes (L to R): a parrot and an octopus.

Newsweek has written several articles regarding musicals including celebrities that have hit the Broadway stage, the winners of the 2022 Tony Awards and a look at all the songs in Lin Manuel-Miranda’s Disney musical, Encanto.

In 2019, Newton-John put the iconic black suit up for auction. She told an interviewer with the U.K. chat show Lorraine, that the outfit was in her closet for years. She admitted in the same interview that she had to be sewn into her pants due to the zipper being broken.

The money used to purchase the outfit was donated to the Cancer Treatment Center. According to CNBC, the black suit was sold for $405,700.