Marie Osmond reflected on her decision to turn down the part of a teen ingenue in Grease that rocketed Olivia Newton-John to fame.

“When I started in the 70s, I don’t think women were treated equally. I grew up with eight brothers and I was the only girl, I grew up with great male role models. My problem is I just assumed every man was like my brothers and that’s not the case.”

Osmond said the version of the script for the 1978 musical with John Travolta was much edgier than what was delivered on screen by Newton-John. She said: “But I was at a place in my life where I wanted to have children and I didn’t like the fact that the girl had to turn bad to get the guy. I think the guy has to work hard to get the girl, that’s what I believe.

“I don’t think we’re the ones that need to change. I think women’s hearts – that divine feminine within us – God gave us that to know what’s right and wrong, to perceive the needs of a child, we know and so I learned to respect that or not dismiss it.”

Osmond’s family made all the difference. She said: “The biggest thing for me was that I had a great support system, my mother and father said that truth wins out in the long run. People change, truth doesn’t. Hold on to what’s truth. That has helped me a lot, and learn to laugh. That’s something I learned maybe more than my brothers. Being a woman you’re going to go through things, you must be honest and ethical and have a great time, and that’s made a huge difference for me.”