After all these years, I don’t think there’s ever been a Rizzo as charming or relatable as Stockard Channing.
Channing was a talented actress, and her singing in *Grease* was amazing. But now, at 80 years old, she looks almost unrecognizable.
The first movie I ever saw Stockard Channing in was called *The Big Bus*, and I thought it was really funny. Back then, I never could have guessed that she would go on to have such an amazing career.
Today, Stockard Channing is best known for playing Betty Rizzo in *Grease*. *Grease* is a 1978 musical romantic comedy film based on a musical from 1971 with the same name. Many people, including me, think Channing was the best Rizzo out of everyone who has ever played the role.
A lot of people also know Channing from the TV show *The West Wing*, where she played First Lady Abbey Bartlet. Her acting was praised, especially her natural chemistry with Martin Sheen, who played President Josiah Bartlet.
“It just worked,” she said in an interview with *Entertainment Weekly* in 2020.
“We had this chemistry from the beginning. I don’t know what it was, but we had it and it didn’t go away. It was a happy accident.”
Starring as Betty Rizzo
Let’s take a closer look at the highlight of Stockard Channing’s career. To be honest, she hasn’t been in any major movies since Grease, even though she has kept acting in films and on Broadway.
Channing, who has been nominated for 13 Emmy Awards and seven Tony Awards, seems completely okay with being best known for playing the “bad girl” Betty Rizzo, one of the Pink Ladies in Grease.
But is that really all there is to her story?
Back in 1973, Channing had a small breakthrough when she starred in the TV movie The Girl Most Likely to…. It was a dark comedy about revenge.
“A lot of people talk about the G-word [Grease] and all of that, but back in the day, I had just as many people stop me on the street because of that one movie,” she said. “Because it’s about revenge, and people would sit in their living rooms and think, ‘Oh, I’m the only person watching this’ or ‘this person understands me.’ I’m not kidding. It was a million years ago, and then it was the highest-rated movie of the week. Revenge always works.”
Channing says she has only watched Grease twice.
“I used to be grumpy about Grease because I thought it was a kids’ movie or something. But now it’s kind of amazing. I’m very proud of it,” she told The Times in 2019.
The actress, who was born in Manhattan, was 33 years old when she played Rizzo, and playing a high school teenager wasn’t easy for her.
“I was much older than Rizzo in real life, but I couldn’t think about that. I had to imagine what I felt like when I was her age, or even younger. I thought about the complexity of being a teenager, with all the hormones, feelings, and issues around sexuality. Being older helped me show Rizzo’s sense of isolation,” Channing told Broadway World.
Channing, who got interested in acting at a young age, was very excited when she was offered the role of Rizzo. Her performance made her a big star in the late 1970s. She even won a People’s Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture Supporting Actress. However, the actress from New York found it hard to get the same kind of success after Grease.
Channing was given two of her own sitcoms, Stockard Channing in Just Friends (1979) and The Stockard Channing Show (1980), but neither of them did well, and her career slowed down.
But Channing, with her Elizabeth Taylor-like looks and calm confidence, didn’t give up. She kept acting in many highly-praised movies and stage plays. Her most recent big-screen appearance was in the movie Angry Neighbors, which premiered in 2022.
Moving to London
In recent years, Stockard Channing has been involved in theater productions in London, where she now lives. She used to live in Maine with her partner of 25 years, but she moved to England in 2019.
“Living on my own here during the pandemic, I was sort of going through the same experience as everyone else in the country,” she told The Times.
Keeping a Low Profile
On a personal level, Stockard Channing has kept a low profile. The Grease star, who has always been known for being “reckless” and restless, has no children.
She has been married and divorced four times. Nowadays, she finds comfort in her dog, who has been her constant companion for many years.
Stockard Channing and Plastic Surgery
In recent years, Channing has also gotten attention for her changing appearance. It all started in 2017 when she was interviewed on Lorraine, a British breakfast TV show.
Here’s the article rewritten in simple language:
—
### Reactions to Channing’s Appearance
Channing was on the show to talk about her career and the roles she’s played, but many viewers were more focused on how different the *Grease* star looked. Many people were surprised by how much she had changed, leading to lots of talk on Twitter and articles in the tabloids.
“Oh my god, what has Rizzo done to herself?” one viewer wrote, while another said, “Shocked at how Stockard Channing looked on *Lorraine*. Why do they mess with plastic surgeons?”
In an article from the *Daily Mail*, a surgeon suggested that Channing might have used botox. However, others defended Channing. After all, we all get older, and it’s normal for an 80-year-old woman’s appearance to change over time.
To me, Channing still has that “Rizzo” personality – cool and confident! In an interview with *Out* magazine in 2011, she said she does “everything I f—ing can” to stay in shape.
“You get to a certain age, and you start playing a lot of mothers. Maybe if I had children, I’d feel differently, but I really hate being compared to these guys’ memories of their mothers, which, trust me, aren’t so great,” she laughed and added:
“Or maybe they watched a lot of *The Golden Girls*, you know? And while I’m thankful for *The Golden Girls*, they don’t spend time with women my age now, and I’d like to think the world has changed since then.”
The Power of a Child’s Empathy
The hum of the classroom, usually a symphony of whispers and rustling papers, was replaced by a heavy silence. Little Sarah stood before the class, her small frame trembling, her eyes brimming with tears. “My mommy and daddy are going to court today,” she announced, her voice barely a whisper. “They’re going to make me choose.”
A collective gasp filled the room. The children, their faces etched with innocent concern, looked at Sarah, their eyes wide with unspoken questions. I felt a lump form in my throat. How could I, a grown adult, possibly soothe the pain of such a profound loss?
I knelt beside Sarah, gently placing an arm around her shoulders. “It’s going to be okay, sweetie,” I murmured, my voice as reassuring as I could manage. “We’re all here for you.”
I did my best to steer the class towards our morning routine, hoping to create a sense of normalcy amidst the emotional turmoil. But the air in the room remained thick with unspoken worry.
Later, as the children worked on their art projects, I noticed Sarah by the cubbies, her small body shaking with quiet sobs. She was hugging a classmate, a little boy named Michael, who was also crying softly. My heart pounded. Had something happened? Had the weight of her situation become too much for her to bear?
I rushed over, my voice laced with concern. “Sarah, Michael, what’s wrong?”
They looked up at me, their faces stained with tears, but their eyes held a strange sense of calm. Then, Michael held out a crumpled piece of paper.
“She was sad,” he mumbled, his voice thick with emotion. “So I wrote her this.”
I unfolded the note, my hands trembling. In uneven, childlike handwriting, it read:
“Don’t worry. Whatever happens, it’s in God’s hands.”
The simplicity of the message, the profound depth of its compassion, hit me like a wave. Tears welled up in my eyes, blurring my vision. These two children, barely old enough to tie their own shoes, had shown a level of empathy and understanding that surpassed anything I had witnessed in years.
I had spent my life trying to impart wisdom to these young minds, to guide them through the complexities of the world. But in that moment, they had taught me a lesson I would never forget.
As I drove home that afternoon, the image of Sarah and Michael, their tear-streaked faces and the crumpled note, remained etched in my mind. I felt an overwhelming sense of pride, a deep appreciation for the little family we had built in our classroom.
We often underestimate the power of a child’s heart, their capacity for love and understanding. We dismiss their emotions as fleeting, their words as naive. But that day, I witnessed the true essence of compassion, the pure, unadulterated empathy that resides within the hearts of children.
I realized that my role as a teacher was not just about imparting knowledge, but about fostering kindness, nurturing compassion, and creating a safe haven where these small hearts could flourish. And I knew that even on the toughest days, when the noise and chaos threatened to overwhelm me, I would always remember the crumpled note, the tearful hug, and the unwavering belief that, in the face of adversity, love and compassion will always prevail.
Leave a Reply