Grease star Stockard Channing has made her first red carpet appearance in two years, just weeks after opening up about her “reclusive” life in London.
Best known for playing Rizzo in the movie musical and the US First Lady in The West Wing, the 82-year-old actress relocated to London in 2019, where she’s been living a far more low-key life and focused on working in the theatre.
But on Wednesday (26 August), Channing made a super rare public appearance at London’s European premiere of Practical Magic 2.
The New York-born actress, who has been directing a production of Krapp’s Last Tape at the Edinburgh Fringe this month, wore a navy blue suit and cream shirt with chunky gunmetal jewellery.
Channing starred in the original Practical Magic film in 1998 as matriarch Frances Owens, who is the aunt to Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman’s young witches.
She’ll be reprising the role in the upcoming sequel, which is released in September, and appeared at the premiere alongside fellow returning stars Bullock, Kidman and Dianne Wiest, as well as new cast members Joey King and Maisie Williams.
This marked her first red carpet appearance in two years, as beyond a few forays on the stage, Stockard has largely stepped back from the public eye since moving to London.
The film star relocated to the UK from Maine following the death of her long-term partner, cinematographer Daniel Gillham in 2014.
Since arriving here, she’s appeared in productions at Hampstead Theatre and in the West End, where she starred last year opposite Brie Larson in Elektra.
Speaking recently about her move across the pond, she 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.”
Channing explained that the move had “vaguely coincided” with Trump’s election and shifting politics in the US, adding that she’d lived alone since the death of Gillham, her partner since 1990.
“I’m happy being a recluse,” she said, explaining that she was “not sure I’ll do anything after” directing her show at the Fringe this August.
“Acting is like everything in life; you never know what’s going to happen,” Channing said.
