Grease star Stockard Channing has revealed she is living a “reclusive” life in London, having moved to the capital just before the pandemic. The 82-year-old American actress, best known for playing rebellious Rizzo in the movie musical and US First Lady Abbey Bartlet in The West Wing, relocated from Maine in 2019 following the death of her long-term partner, cinematographer Daniel Gillham, in 2014.
Devastating loss and a shift in life
Speaking about her move, Channing told The Times: “Since just before Covid I’ve been living in London. My partner, Daniel, died in 2014 and it was more devastating than I realised; it had a lag effect. The pattern of my life shifted, so I shifted my life from Maine.”
She explained that the move had “vaguely coincided” with Donald Trump’s election and changing politics in the US, and that she’d lived alone since Gillham’s death. “I’m happy being a recluse,” she said. “I was married four times before Daniel and they all represent epochs of me. I grew up in the Sixties, reacting to that repressed notion of marriage and sexuality from the Fifties – kinda like Rizzo.”
Theatre focus in the UK
Since moving to the UK, Channing has predominantly focused on theatre work. She first appeared on the London stage in the Royal Court’s original production of Six Degrees of Separation in 1992 and later in Jamie Lloyd’s Apologia at Trafalgar Studios. Recent London productions include Night Mother at Hampstead Theatre in 2021 and a performance opposite Brie Larson in Daniel Fish’s Elektra at the Duke of York’s last year.
Upcoming projects
Channing shows no sign of slowing down. This September, she’ll reprise her role opposite Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock in the long-awaited Practical Magic sequel. She is also directing a production of Krapp’s Last Tape at the Edinburgh Fringe this month, telling The Times she was “not sure I’ll do anything after that”. “Acting is like everything in life; you never know what’s going to happen,” she said.
