'Christmas is hard for me because I lost my sister a few years ago': Olivia Newton-John gets emotional as she talks about spending the holidays without her late sister Rona

By Simone Amelia For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 21:49 EST, 14 December 2016 | Updated: 00:20 EST, 15 December 2016

She's brought joy to fans around the world with a music career spanning four decades.

But the holiday season is a particularly somber time for Olivia Newton-John.

The 68-year-old was on Sunrise on Thursday with John Farnham to promote their new album, and opened up about the loss of her late sister Rona Newton-John.

Bittersweet: Olivia Newton-John, 68, was on Sunrise on Thursday with John Farnham to promote their new album and she opened up about the loss of her late sister Rona

'Christmas can be hard. It's a little hard for me still because I lost my sister a few years ago,' the visibly emotional entertainer said. 

'I know that Christmas brings back all those memories for people, so it can be difficult.'

Rona passed away in May 2013 after a battle with brain cancer. 

Tragic: Rona [L] died in May 2013 after a battle with brain cancer and in a sad twist, passed away on their mother Irene's birthday

Olivia was in the middle of a performance residency in Las Vegas and rushed to her sister's side after she was diagnosed just a month before she died.

'I will miss her forever - my beautiful, smart, talented, funny, brave sister Rona,' she wrote on her Facebook page as a dedication to her older sibling at the time.

In a tragic twist, Rona passed away on their mother Irene's birthday. 

'Christmas can be hard. It's a little hard for me still because I lost my sister a few years ago,' the visibly emotional entertainer said

Olivia herself was diagnosed with breast cancer on the same weekend her father died of the disease in 1992.

She created the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre in 2013 to support cancer patients and their families with wellness programs.

'It had to be cancer and wellness because I believe you can go from cancer to wellness as I have,' she told The Sydney Morning Herald during the opening. 

Glad she got the text: Olivia agreed to John's proposal to make an album by responding with a smiley face emoji

She teamed up with longtime friend John Farnham to record Friends For Christmas. 

When he texted her with the suggestion to collaborate on the album, she replied with 'yes yes yes' and a smiley face emoji.

'This CD is very uplifting, so I hope that it cheers people up and they remember the good times,' she said. 

'This CD is very uplifting, so I hope that it cheers people up and they remember the good times,' she said of her new album with John Farnham, Friends For Christmas

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