Throughout her career, Stockard Channing has played some of pop culture’s most memorable characters: Betty Rizzo in Grease, First Lady Abigail Bartlet in The West Wing and Aunt Frances "Franny" Owens in Practical Magic. She often gets approached by fans, but what role does she get the most recognition for?
"I think it’s probably a toss-up between the world's oldest living teenager (she was 33 when she played the high school student Rizzo) and the First Lady of the United States," Stockard, 82, tells HELLO! in this exclusive interview.
"Then there'll be somebody who’ll think of Practical Magic or Six Degrees of Separation. You never know what people are watching."
It’s highly likely many of those fans can’t wait to watch Stockard reprise her role as Aunt Frances in the sequel to the 1998 movie Practical Magic, which is released in the UK this Friday. In it, she reunites with her original co-stars Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock and Dianne Wiest – and despite not having worked together for nearly three decades, it was like no time had passed.
"We're back like we had never left each other, which is kind of extraordinary," she says. "We kept getting on with it as if we had stopped shooting a week before, which was unusual. It was tremendously easy."
© Getty ImagesShe and Dianne, who plays her sister, Aunt Bridget "Jet" Owens, slipped straight back into their easy chemistry. "We have known each other since we were very young women, starting our careers in New York. There is deep respect and affection between us," Stockard says, adding that reuniting with her on set was like "silk off a spool".
Working with Nicole and Sandra again was "absolutely great", she says. "They have a genuine affection for each other that's palpable. The four of us have had ups and downs and sideways in our personal lives, and losses and achievements, but there was no point in getting into that. We all just co-existed happily."
"I'm very grateful and proud"
Practical Magic’s sequel arose out of a strong fanbase who had clamoured for a continuation of the story. And of course, Grease and The West Wing have also grown in popularity since their initial release. "I'm very grateful and proud of both of them," Stockard says, adding she knew the 1978 musical film was special immediately.
"I knew it was very well made and that the studio got the best in every department. But when it came out, it was sort of dismissed as just a kids' film, yet envied because it made so much money. If someone had said to me that, more than 40 years later, I'd be talking about Grease in an interview, I would say, ‘No, I don't really think that's going to happen.’ But that's life..."
© Getty ImagesThe star, who has been married four times and now lives in London with her dog, Benny, has built an impressive body of work since Grease, winning a Tony Award in 1985 for A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, multiple Emmys, including one for The West Wing, and an Academy Award nomination. Does she ever get fed up being asked about Rizzo all the time?
"No!" she says. "There was a period when I sort of did, because it did nothing for my career at the time. I had to pull myself up by the bootstraps and start again because the movie wasn't respected. But that was a long time ago and since then I’ve done a lot of other things that have been appreciated. I do actually kind of love the character and I’m really glad that young women, especially, are drawn to Rizzo. I've come full circle now."
She adds: "The thing about Rizzo was that she was a young person who was scared. She always thought she was right and she was a bit of a [expletive], but there was a lot of pressure on her at the time. God knows if she was my age now, where on earth would she be? I don't know, because she was a kid. I love the song There are Worse Things I Could Do as that sums her up; she was scared and sort of belligerent, the way teenagers can be."
© Getty ImagesAway from the big screen, the New York-born actress recently made her directorial debut, working with her old friend, the actor David Westhead, on a production of Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, which ran as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The show is now on tour, with all ticket sales donated to the charity David set up, the Wembley to Soweta Foundation, which trains young people in photography and life skills.
She likens the experience of directing him in the show to "conducting an orchestra, because he's the instrument and I was only fine tuning him". Stockard visited the festival for the show’s opening night and says the experience was unique.
"I got there the day before the festival started, and I thought, ‘This is nice. This is calm.’ And the next day, it was completely transformed into this sort of mini madhouse. It was crazy and amazing."
"I have a lot of fun in life"
Her work diary is clear for now and she is open to opportunities. "I think things need to fall into one's lap. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. That's amazing about the world we live in."
Fortunately, she keeps being tempted back from the prospect of retirement by great job offers. "I thought I'd actually retired a couple of years ago," she says. "But I didn't. If the right job came along I would take it, absolutely."
What does she think is the secret to thriving at the age of 82? "I think I took care of myself. I have a lot of fun in life, but I have a great sense of taking care of this little body I was given and I know a lot about it. I am very lucky."
You can watch Practical Magic 2 in UK cinemas starting 11 September 2026.
