Grease star Stockard Channing now lives as a ‘recluse’ nearly 50 years on from release of hit movie

It's been almost 50 years since Grease became a worldwide phenomenon - but Stockard Channing, who played the role of Betty Rizzo is living a completely different life to the Pink Ladies.

Channing, who starred alongside John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in the 1978 movie, has now spoken out on living a 'recluse' life.

“I’ve lived alone since I lost [my partner], Daniel [Gillham],” the 82-year-old said in an essay she wrote for the Sunday Times.

Cinematographer and producer, Gillham passed away in 2014, at the age of 58. The couple met in 1990, and were together until Gillham's death in 2014, although they were never married.

Channing moved to London after his death, 'just before Covid'.

Channing says she's 'living a recluse life' in London (Photo by Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images)

"It was more devastating than I realised; it had a lag effect," she wrote about her husband's death. "The pattern of my life shifted, so I shifted my life from Maine," she added.

Elsewhere, Channing, who has been married four times, spoke about her decision not to have children, which she said she 'did think about'.

The 82-year-old revealed that 'it would be nice to have someone taking care of her,' although added that 'children can be just as selfish as everybody else out there.'

Channing's first marriage was with Walter Channing Jr, in 1963. The couple were married for four years, before going their separate ways in 1967. However, Channing kept his last name.

Three years later, she tied the knot with Paul Schmidt, although the two went their separate ways in 1976. That same year, she married Hollywood writer and producer David Debin. During their time as a couple, they worked on The Stockard Channing Show together.

However, they divorced after four years.

Channing starred as one of the 'Pink Ladies' in the hit film (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)

She then married her fourth husband, David Rawle, who she was married to between 1980 to 1988. Two years later, she met Gillham, and although the couple were together for almost 25 years, they never married.

Despite living a 'recluse' life, Channing hasn't taken a step back from work, and is currently directing the play Krapp’s Last Tape, which will debut at Edinburgh later this year. However, she told the outlet that she feels like this may be her final run in the industry.

"Acting is like everything in life; you never know what’s going to happen," she penned.

Channing's life away from the spotlight at the moment involves a regular routine just like the rest of us, in which she 'cooks salad' in the evening, before meditating, reading and 'falling asleep before 11'.

The star's made her Broadway debut in 1971, seven years before starring in Grease. She was 33-years-old at the time of playing the 18-year-old high school senior, Rizzo.

“People might say the cast is too old, but Grease is not a documentary; it’s a fantasy,” casting director, Joel Thurm, previously told The Guardian on his choices.

“It’s a non-PC fairytale that is better for the cast not being teens. The only thing that was important [while filming] was that the cast all looked about the same age as each other, which they did.”