Q 01/05

In which English city was Olivia Newton-John born in 1948?

A) Oxford

B) Norwich

C) Brighton

D) Cambridge

Answer · why

D) Cambridge

Her father was headmaster of the Cambridgeshire High School for Boys at the time. The family emigrated to Melbourne when she was five.

Q 02/05

Her maternal grandfather, Max Born, won a Nobel Prize in which field?

A) Chemistry

B) Medicine

C) Physics

D) Literature

Answer · why

C) Physics

Born was a pioneer of quantum mechanics. Through the same line she was also a descendant of Martin Luther and a third cousin of comedian Ben Elton.

Q 03/05

During World War II her father worked on the Enigma project at which site?

A) Porton Down

B) Dover Castle

C) Chartwell

D) Bletchley Park

Answer · why

D) Bletchley Park

As an MI5 officer he also took Rudolf Hess into custody after Hess's flight to Scotland.

Q 04/05

To which Australian city did her family emigrate in 1954?

A) Sydney

B) Adelaide

C) Perth

D) Melbourne

Answer · why

D) Melbourne

Her father became master of Ormond College at the University of Melbourne; her cancer centre would later open in the same city.

Q 05/05

What career did she originally want before choosing performance?

A) Solicitor

B) Schoolteacher

C) Pharmacist

D) Veterinarian

Answer · why

D) Veterinarian

She doubted she could pass the science exams. Her later animal-rights activism included cancelling a Japan tour over dolphin deaths.