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:
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### 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.”
15+ Items That Had the Internet Anxiously Searching for Clues
Ever stumbled upon an object that left you scratching your head in confusion? We’ve all been there! Our inquisitive nature just won’t let us rest until we’ve uncovered its true purpose. But gone are the days when we had to trek to the library or beg an expert for answers. Thanks to the power of the internet, we’ve got a whole army of online detectives at our fingertips! And boy, have they uncovered some wild secrets about mysterious objects.
1. “It’s rubber or silicone, the size of a fingertip; it doesn’t erase; it’s about as hard as a bouncy ball but doesn’t bounce like a bouncy ball. Doesn’t light up. What is it?”
Answer: It’s “an 80’s light bulb eraser without the metal bottom editing to add they never really erased anything”
2. “What are these metal things on the corners of these stairs and their purpose?”
Answer: These are corner dust guards. They make it easier to sweep dust out of the corners.
3. “What is this thing? A small gold pig container with a removable tiny spoon for a tail”
Answer: It’s a salt cellar.
4. “What’s happening here?”
Answer: “Evaluation trial trenching” is done to make sure there are no important archaeological artefacts that might be destroyed by excavation.
5. “Why does this Stop sign look different?”
Answer: These are blinders, typically used so the sign can be read from a narrow angle. They’re also called directional shields. You’ll see them on traffic lights a lot more often.
6. “Plastic-like, circular object made of ‘cells.’ It can be found on several beaches, in Sardinia (Italy).”
Answer: This is biofilm used to treat waste water.
7. “I now own these neon rainbow acrylic mystery sticks. Anyone know what I bought?”
Answer: These are multi-color acrylic Mahjong pushers.
8. “I found this when cleaning my parents basement. It’s made out of wood and the paint is heavily chipped.”
© Mimosa****** / Reddit / Reddit
Answer: It’s a phone stand. The vertical cavity is for your city phone book or books. The top is a handle for moving it about.
9. “What is this toilet’s purpose?”
Answer: This is a 1950s Standard “Sanistand” urinal for women.
10. “This fancy hotel has a shallow tub with 2 sides.”
Answer: You’re supposed to keep your feet in the warm water first and then quickly put them in the cold water (repeat a few times). This is supposed to help with circulation. These tubs are usually used in spas and other wellness or health-related facilities.
11. “This thing is in the middle of the wall in my 1906 house.”
Answer: It’s a capped off gas line from when they used gas lighting.
12. “This metal covering on the floor inside our new house, screwed to the ground.”
© holographic********* / Reddit
Answer: This is a built-in floor outlet.
13. “This pumpkin thing opens on a hinge, there is a latch inside with a small glass jar.”
Answer: It is a vinaigrette, a piece of jewelry containing smelling salts or perfume that women hung from a chatelaine chain in Victorian times.
14. “I found this weird thing in a junk drawer.”
Answer: The classic Sunbeam Mixmaster had a juicer attachment which looked like a bowl attached to the top of the mixer. This is the spout from which the juice pours out. The wire part had a small sieve to filter the pulp.
15. “What is this ice phenomenon I found on the forest floor today?”
Answer: The term for it is “frost flower” and has to do with moisture freezing as it escapes plant tissue.
16. “What is this tall piece of plastic with a metal base that collapses into it?”
Answer: This is a clarinet (or similar instrument) stand.
17. “This strange object from Tiffany’s mysteriously given to my wife by her grandmother while refusing to say what it was.”
Answer: This thing is for stirring drinks.
18. “I found this while cleaning out the attic. It’s wood, looks handmade, measures 8 inches, but I have no idea what it is or what it does.”
Answer: It’s a Yacouba Double Spoon — a symbol of hospitality in traditional African art. It represents 2 very distinct universes that are opposite.
19. “White plastic object with squares and rectangles; it’s light and has nothing written on it.”
Answer: It’s a battery holder for the original battery in the Mercedes Benz W168. Source: I had that car (also English user manual page: 295)
20. “A small metal object that fits in the palm of my hand. The gold-colored part slides up and down but can be locked in place with the adjuster screw.”
Answer: It looks like this fountain pen holder for an embosser.
21. “Small metal bowl with 4 legs and threaded lip”
Answer: “Radiator cap for Ford Model T 1909 to 1927.”
Bonus: “I saw this weird cloud while running.”
Looking for a wilder ride filled with mysterious objects and online sleuths? Then you won’t want to miss this article! We’ve compiled 15 of the most bizarre discoveries that left people scratching their heads — until the internet detectives swooped in to save the day.
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