YOU WON’T BELIEVE HOW ‘GREASE’ STAR STOCKARD CHANNING LOOKS AT 80

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.

Wikipedia Commons

“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.

Stockard Channing in 2011 / Wikipedia Commons / Sean Koo

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.

Shutterstock

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.”

Officer Sacrifices Himself To Save Wife From Crash, A Few Weeks Later This Miracle Happens

While fixing a dirt bike on the side of the road on August 1, Lucas and Nicole Shoffner, two off-duty deputies from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, were hit by a car. Raymond Surber, a deputy of the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office, was operating the car. Through Facebook, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office has asked for prayers for the injured cops.

Photo Credit: Gofundme

Matt Fagiana, a former Loudon County policeman, revealed that Lucas bravely saved Nicole by pushing her aside, despite suffering serious injuries. Fagiana said, “You got this Lucas, and we are behind you and Nicole every step of the way,” characterizing Lucas as “kind, loyal, funny, and resilient.”

Lucas has severe brain injuries and is in a medically induced coma at the UT Medical Center’s Transplant Intensive Care Unit. Lucas’s former employer, the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office, offered their support by stating, “Lucas, everyone at LCSO is pulling for you!”

Photo Credit: Gofundme

Nicole announced on Instagram that Lucas is moving out of critical care after 40 days, which is a positive development. “We begin our chapter of healing today,” she declared. The narrative highlights the bravery and sacrifices made by law enforcement.

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