Newton-John sues for the $1m that she wants

More than a quarter of a century after her performance as the love-struck Sandy made her a household name, Olivia Newton-John is suing for more than a million dollars in Grease royalties.

The British-born actress and singer, who starred opposite John Travolta in the 1978 cult movie, is suing the record label Universal Music Group.

She claims she is owed more than $1m (£505,000) in royalties from the soundtrack album and that she wasn't properly compensated for the use of her image on the cover.

Last Friday, she filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Her lawyer, John Mason, said it alleges that while Universal did pay some royalties, it failed to make a range of other contractual payments to Newton-John's company, ON-J Productions.

It alleges Newton-John, 58, and Universal hammered out a deal in 1978 stating how much money she would to get for each album sold. Court papers state that a recent audit showed Universal has failed to pay $1m.

Yesterday, Universal dismissed the claim as "without merit".