Later career

Newton-John was primed for another comeback in 1992 when she compiled her third hits collection, Back To Basics - The Essential Collection, and planned her first tour since her Physical trek ten years earlier. Shortly after the album's release, Newton-John was diagnosed with breast cancer forcing her to cancel all publicity for the album including the tour. Newton-John received her diagnosis on the same day her father passed away. Newton-John recovered and has since become a tireless advocate of breast cancer awareness. She has been a product spokesperson for the Liv-Kit, a breast self-examination product. She is currently raising funds to build the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia.

Newton-John's cancer diagnosis affected the type of music she recorded. In 1994, she released Gaia: One Woman's Journey, which chronicled her ordeal. This was the first album on which Newton-John wrote all of the songs encouraging her to become more active as a songwriter thereafter. In 2005, she released Stronger Than Before which was sold exclusively in the United States by Hallmark. Proceeds from the album's sales benefited breast cancer research. The album featured the song Phenomenal Woman based on the poem by Maya Angelou that featured guest vocals from Diahann Carroll, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Delta Goodrem, Amy Holland, Patti LaBelle and Mindy Smith who were all cancer survivors or whose lives were affected by the disease. The following year, Newton-John released a healing CD, Grace And Gratitude. The album was sold exclusively by Walgreens also benefitting various charities and was the heart of their Body - Heart - Spirit Wellness Collection. The collection also featured a re-branded Liv-Kit and breast health dietary supplements.

Newton-John's more spiritual, contemplative music was complemented by her pop oriented releases. In 1998, she returned to Nashville to record Back With A Heart. The album returned her to the Top 10 (No. 9) on the Country Albums chart. Its only single was a remake of I Honestly Love You produced by David Foster and featuring Babyface on background vocals that charted Pop (No. 67) and AC (No. 18). Country radio dismissed the song, although it did peak at No. 16 on the Country Sales chart. The album track, Love Is A Gift, won Newton-John a 1999 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song after being featured on the daytime serial, As The World Turns. Newton-John resumed touring in 1999.

Newton-John's subsequent albums were all released overseas primarily in Australia. Newton-John, John Farnham and Anthony Warlow toured Australia as The Main Event. The live album won an ARIA Award for Highest Selling Australian CD and was also nominated for Best Adult Contemporary Album. She and Farnham performed Dare To Dream at the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In 2002, Newton-John released (2), a duets album featuring mostly Australian singers including Darren Hayes, Tina Arena, Jimmy Little, Billy Thorpe and Johnny O'Keefe as well as a heartfelt duet with the deceased Peter Allen. The same year, Newton-John was inducted into Australia's ARIA Hall of Fame. 2004 brought the release of Indigo: Women of Song, a tribute album covering songs by The Carpenters, Minnie Riperton, Doris Day, Nina Simone, Joan Baez and others. Newton-John dedicated the album to her mother who died the previous year.

Newton-John acted occasionally during this period. She appeared in a supporting role in the 1996 AIDS drama, It's My Party - her first feature film since Two of a Kind (1983 film). In 2000, she appeared in a dramatically different role as Bitsy Mae Harling, a lesbian ex-con country singer, in Del Shores' Sordid Lives. (Reportedly, Newton-John will reprise this role in Del Shores' Sordid Lives - The Series from LOGO scheduled for 2008.) Newton-John has done some television work as well. She starred in the television movies A Mom For Christmas (1990) and A Christmas Romance (1994) - both Top 10 Nielsen hits. Her daughter, Chloe Rose Lattanzi, starred as one of her children in both A Christmas Romance and in the 2001 Showtime film The Wilde Girls. Newton-John guest-starred as herself in the sitcoms Ned and Stacey, Murphy Brown and Bette. In Australia, Newton-John hosted Wild Life, a show about animals and nature - two major interests for Newton-John. She also guest stared as Joanna on two episodes of the Australian series The Man From Snowy River.

After her 1995 divorce from Matt Lattanzi, Newton-John met gaffer/cameraman Patrick McDermott the following year. The couple dated on and off for nine years until he went missing following a 2005 fishing trip off the California coast. Various theories have abounded regarding his disappearance ranging from his death by accident or foul play to McDermott staging his disappearance to avoid child support payments to his ex-wife, actress Yvette Nipar. To date, there have been no credible leads and he remains missing. Newton-John, who was in Australia at her self-owned Gaia Retreat & Spa at the time of his disappearance, was never a suspect and has refused to comment on any speculation. Newton-John returned to the tabloid headlines again in 2007 when it was revealed that her daughter was recovering from anorexia.

Newton-John released her first proper Christmas album, Christmas Wish, exclusively through Target in November 2007. She previously released a Christmas album with Vince Gill through Hallmark in 2000 and a compilation album, Christmas Collection, in 2001 of seasonal music recorded for various albums and television performances. Newton-John is also scheduled to release another concert video, Olivia Newton-John With The Sydney Symphony, and another live album, Olivia's Live Hits, on January 15, 2008. An edited version of the DVD premiered on PBS station, WLIW (Garden City, New York), in October 2007