Stockard Channing: The star from ‘Grease’ is 80 & looks unrecognizable now

After all these years, I don’t think there’s ever been a more charismatic or relatable Rizzo than Stockard Channing.

Channing was a great artist and her singing was just fantastic in Grease – but nowadays, the 80-year-old looks almost unrecognizable.

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The first movie I ever saw Stockard Channing in was called The Big Bus and I thought it was hilarious. But back then, I could never imagine that she would go on and have such a remarkable career.

Today, Stockard Channing is best known for her iconic portrayal of Betty Rizzo in Grease, the 1978 American musical romantic comedy film based on the 1971 musical of the same name. Like many before me have pointed out, Channing was by far the best Rizzo out of all that have played the part.

Many probably also recognize Channing from the series The West Wing, where she starred as First Lady Abbey Bartlet. The experienced actress was praised for her instant chemistry with Martin Sheen, who played President Josiah Barlet.

“It just worked,” she told 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 Beth Rizzo

But let’s take a deeper look at the highlight of Channing’s career. Because in the name of honesty, she hasn’t appeared in any major motion picture since Grease, even though she has continued to act in films and on Broadway.

The 13-time Emmy Award nominee and seven-time Tony Award nominee appears to be totally fine with being most remembered for her portrayal of bad girl Beth Rizzo, one of the Pink Ladies in Grease.

But is that really the whole truth?

Back in 1973, Channing had little breakthrough starring in the TV-movie The Girl Most Likely to…, a black comedy about revenge.

“A lot of people talk about the G-word [Grease] and all of that, but back in the day, I had as many people stop me in the street about that one movie. Because it’s about revenge, and people would sit in their living rooms and go, ‘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,” she says.

According to Channing, she has only watched Grease only two times.

“I used to be grumpy about Grease because I thought it was a kids’ movie or something. But now it’s sort of amazing. I’m very proud of it,” she told The Times in 2019.

The Manhattan-born actress was 33 years old when she played Rizzo and playing a high school teenager wasn’t so easy for her.

Wikipedia Commons

”I was so much older than she was in life, but I could not think about that so I sort of threw myself back to what I felt when I was her age over, even younger. The complexity of adolescents and hormones and sexuality and all of that other stuff. Seeing that I really was older I think that added to the isolation of Rizzo,” Channing told Broadway World.

Channing, who became interested in acting at an early age, was thrilled when she was offered the role of Rizzo, and her performance made her a top-ranking star in the late 1970s. She earned a People’s Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture Supporting Actress, but the New York native had difficulty achieving similar success after Grease.

The beloved actress was handed two sitcoms of her own, Stockard Channing in Just Friends (1979) and The Stockard Channing Show (1980), but neither was successful and her career halted.

But with her look of Elizabeth Taylor and air of calm confidence, Channing didn’t give up and she continued to work as an actress, appearing in many highly-praised movies and stage plays. Her latest appearance on the big screen came was in Angry Neighbors, which premiered in 2022.

Stockard Channing in 2011 / Wikipedia Commons / Sean Koo

Jennifer Lopez ‘seemed off’ in pics taken days before rumored split from Ben Affleck

It seems that there’s trouble in paradise for Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. At least, that’s what the internet has been saying for the past few days.

Sadly, multiple news outlets suggest that things may not be looking good for the power couple, affectionately referred to as ‘Bennifer’.

Rumors of a potential split have slowly been intensifying as new details come to light.

Last week, Ben Affleck was spotted driving in Brentwood, Los Angeles. According to TMZ, the actor was leaving a house where he had apparently been staying alone. The following day, paparazzi caught him again, leaving the same location.

Affleck, once more riding solo, was reportedly not seen at the $60 million Beverly Hills estate he shares with Jennifer Lopez the previous evening. This absence has led some fans to express their dismay over the potential breakup.

Credit: Bellocqimages / Bauer-Griffin / GC Images / Getty.

“Why are they breaking up?” a sad fan wrote on X.

Another fan expressed their shock at the breakup rumors, saying on Facebook: “Noooooo!!!!!!!!!!! This can’t be happening!!!!!”

Similarly, someone else simply commented: “That’s not true.”

However, others are less surprised by the rumors… One person even claimed they expected this outcome all along.

“I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if they have secretly split. I knew from the moment they got married, it [would] not be till death do us part. This is her fourth marriage, how is it truthful on her vows?” an X user wrote.

Meanwhile, a hopeful fan chimed in with: “I hope things work out between them!”

Further complicating the couple’s relationship status is the fact that Affleck and Lopez have not been publicly photographed together for over a month. The last time they were seen together was on March 30, holding hands in New York City.

Credit: MEGA / GC Images / Getty.

Lopez stayed in New York in April and May to promote her upcoming Netflix movie, Atlas. She was also preparing for and attending the Met Gala as a co-chair, without Affleck.

While Lopez was occupied in New York, Affleck was on the West Coast reportedly filming The Accountant 2. He also attended Tom Brady’s comedy roast on May 5, without Lopez.

Commenting on Lopez’s demeanor during her big night at the Met Gala, one Facebook user wrote: “She looked super stressed and tired at the Met Gala. I figured it was […] her tour rehearsals and filming … Maybe it was this … I root for them.”

Jennifer Lopez at this year’s Met Gala. Credit: Marleen Moise / Getty.

“That’s what I was thinking,” replied one user. Another added: “Agree! She looked awful, stressed, and strained. Did not look herself at all.”

A third wrote that the actress “seemed off.”

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