Grease actress reveals reclusive life in London after shunning Hollywood

Grease star Stockard Channing has said she’s ‘happy to be a recluse’ after leaving the US.

The actress, best known for playing The Pink Ladies icon Betty Rizzo in the hit 1978 film, discussed her quiet life in the UK following the death of her partner of 20 years.

Stockard said she lives a quiet life in the UK these days, despite enjoying success after the film in the likes of The West Wing and Practical Magic.

She even earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her portrayal of Louisa ‘Ouisa’ Kitteredge in Six Degrees of Separation in 1993.

Speaking to The Sunday Times Magazine, the 82-year-old said: ‘I’m happy being a recluse.’

She added that the election of President Donald Trump was another reason for her move overseas, saying: ‘It vaguely coincided with Trump getting elected and the way politics has changed in the US.

‘People look at The West Wing and go, “Wow, wasn’t it great when politicians had an ounce of integrity?”’ 

Stockard, who has been married four times, explained that she’s lived alone since the death of producer Dan Gillham in 2014, who she was with since 1990.

‘Children were thought about and, yeah, I think about them now because it’d be great to have someone taking care of me. But hey, children can be just as selfish as everybody else out there,’ she told the publication.

The actress is currently making her directorial debut at Edinburgh Fringe in a production of Krapp’s Last Tape.

The actress will also appear in the highly anticipated release of Practical Magic 2, in which she reprises her role as Aunt Frances Owens.

Stockard previously revealed how she ‘resented’ her success from Grease, saying the film ‘wasn’t taken seriously at all’ at the time, despite becoming the highest-grossing musical film ever and the second-highest-grossing movie for Paramount ever, behind The Godfather.

‘I gave Grease my all, and I’m proud of the performance and proud of the character,’ she told The Times.

‘But at the time, it was not taken at all seriously. The money that it was making was resented. I was resented. It’s a kid’s movie — it was really p****d on.’ 

She added that she has ‘absolutely no idea’ why the film’s popularity spanned a generation, adding: ‘It’s extraordinary.

‘The depth of the impact is bizarre.’