I don’t believe there has ever been a Rizzo who is more endearing or captivating than Stockard Channing after all these years.
Although Channing was a talented performer and her singing in Grease was simply amazing, the 79-year-old today appears to be a completely different person.
The Big Bus was the first movie I ever watched Stockard Channing in, and I thought it was hilarious. However, I had no idea that she would go on to have such a tremendous career back then.
Today, Grease, the 1978 American musical romantic comedy film based on the 1971 musical of the same name, and especially Stockard Channing’s iconic depiction of Betty Rizzo are what most people associate with her. Of all the actors who have portrayed the role of Rizzo, Channing was by far the best, as many people before me have said.
Many people may also be familiar with Channing through her role as First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the television program The West Wing. The seasoned actress received accolades for her on-screen chemistry with President Josiah Barlet, played by Martin Sheen.
In 2020, she told Entertainment Weekly, “It just worked.”
“Right away, there was chemistry between us. Whatever it was, it lingered and wouldn’t go away. It was a fortunate accident.
portraying Beth Rizzo
But let’s dig a little further into Channing’s professional high point. She hasn’t appeared in a major motion feature since Grease, for the sake of candor, though she has continued to act in movies and on Broadway.
The seven-time Tony Award winner and 13-time contender for an Emmy seems to have no problem with being most known for playing the Pink Ladies’ bad girl Beth Rizzo in Grease.
Is that the whole truth, though?
Channing had a modest breakthrough in 1973 as the revenge-themed lead in the TV movie The Girl Most Likely to.
“A lot of people speak about the G-word [Grease] and such, but when I was younger, I had just as many people stop me on the street to ask me about that one movie. People would watch it in their living rooms and think, “Oh, I’m the only one watching this” or “This person understands me,” because it is about retribution. I am not joking. It was the top-rated movie of the week when it first came out, a million years ago. She asserts that revenge always succeeds.
Channing claims that she has only seen two episodes of Grease.
“I used to get annoyed with Grease because I mistakenly believed it to be a children’s film or something. However, it’s now kind of fantastic. I’m quite proud of it,” she remarked in 2019 to The Times.
When she portrayed Rizzo, the actress from Manhattan was 33 years old, and it wasn’t easy for her to portray a high school student.
“I was much older than she was in life, but I was unable to consider this, so I flung myself back to how I had felt when I was much younger than she was. The complexity of adolescence, including hormones, sexuality, and other factors. Knowing that I was actually older, Channing said to Broadway World, “I think that added to the isolation of Rizzo.
Channing, who developed an early interest in acting, was overjoyed to be given the role of Rizzo, and her portrayal of the character propelled her to stardom in the late 1970s. She won the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, but the New Yorker had trouble finding success after Grease.
The popular actress had two sitcoms of her own, Stockard Channing in Just Friends (1979) and The Stockard Channing Show (1980), but neither was a commercial success, and her career came to an abrupt end.
But Channing didn’t give up and kept working as an actor, making appearances in numerous critically acclaimed films and theater productions. She had the appearance of Elizabeth Taylor and exuded calm assurance. Her most recent appearance on the big screen was in the 2022 film Angry Neighbors.
London relocation
Currently residing in London, Channing has recently been involved in theater production there. She and her boyfriend of 25 years used to reside in Maine until moving to England in 2019.
Living alone here during the pandemic, she said, “I was kind of taking the ride with the rest of the country.”
Channing has kept a modest profile personally. The Grease actress, who has always been “reckless” and restless, is childless.
She has four divorces after four marriages. She finds solace in her dog, who has been her steady friend for many years, today.
Surgery on Stockard Channing’s appearance
Channing’s evolving appearance has garnered attention in recent years as well. Everything began in 2017 when she was interviewed on the British morning television program Lorraine.
Although Channing was there to discuss her career and the parts she has performed, many viewers were more curious in what had happened to the Grease actress’ appearance. Many people were astounded by how drastically she had changed; there were rumors on Twitter and tabloid publications.
What has Rizzo done to herself, oh my god? I was shocked by how Stockard Channing seemed on Lorraine, another viewer remarked. Why do they cause problems for plastic surgeons?
A surgeon said that Channing must have utilized botox in a Daily Mail article. Fortunately, though, Channing was defended by others. We all get older, therefore it’s normal for a 79-year-old woman’s appearance to vary over time.
I still think Channing has the cool and seductive “Rizzo” personality. The actress said she does “everything I f—ing can” to keep in shape in an interview with Out magazine in 2011.
“When you reach a certain age, you begin to play a lot of mothers. Maybe if I had kids I’d feel differently, but I really dread running into all these guys’ recollections of their mothers, which, trust me, aren’t that great. ” She chuckled and continued:
Or perhaps they viewed a lot of episodes of The Golden Girls, you know? And I might be quite appreciative of someone who grew up watching The Golden Girls. However, they no longer associate with ladies of this age, and I’d like to assume that things have changed since then.
