Stockard Channing facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Stockard Channing
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Channing in 1984
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| Born |
Susan Antonia Williams Stockard
February 13, 1944 New York City, U.S.
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| Education | Radcliffe College of Harvard University (BA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1969–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Walter Channing Jr.
(m. 1963; div. 1967)Paul Schmidt
(m. 1970; div. 1976)David Debin
(m. 1976; div. 1980)David Rawle
(m. 1980; div. 1988) |
| Partner(s) | Daniel Gillam (1990–2014) |
| Awards | Full list |
Stockard Channing (born Susan Antonia Williams Stockard on February 13, 1944) is a talented American actress. She has won many awards, including three Emmy Awards and a Tony Award. She was also nominated for an Academy Award.
Channing is well-known for playing Betty Rizzo in the movie Grease (1978). She also played First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the TV show The West Wing (1999–2006). She was the first to play Ouisa Kittredge in the play and movie Six Degrees of Separation. Her role in the 1993 film version earned her an Academy Award nomination.
She won a Tony Award in 1985 for her role in the play A Day in the Death of Joe Egg. In 2002, she won Emmy Awards for her work in The West Wing and The Matthew Shepard Story. She also won a Daytime Emmy Award in 2005 for the movie Jack. Channing has appeared in many other films like The Fortune (1975) and Practical Magic (1998). She also had a recurring role on the TV show The Good Wife from 2012 to 2016.
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Early Life and Education
Stockard Channing was born in Manhattan, New York City. She grew up in a wealthy area called the Upper East Side. Her mother was Mary Alice English, and her father was Lester Napier Stockard, who worked in shipping. Her older sister, Lesly Stockard Smith, used to be the mayor of Palm Beach, Florida.
Channing went to the Madeira School, a boarding school for girls in McLean, Virginia. Before that, she attended the Chapin School in New York City. She studied history and literature at Radcliffe College of Harvard University in Massachusetts. She graduated with high honors in 1965. She also trained as an actress at HB Studio in New York City.
Acting Career Highlights
Starting Out in Acting
Channing began her acting journey with an experimental theater group in Boston. She performed in an Off-Broadway play called Adaptation/Next in 1969. In 1971, she made her first appearance on Broadway in Two Gentlemen of Verona — The Musical.
She also appeared on Sesame Street as "The Number Painter's female victim." Her first main role was in the 1973 TV movie The Girl Most Likely To.... In this dark comedy, she played a woman who becomes beautiful after an accident and seeks revenge. For this role, she had to wear special makeup to look "ugly" at first.
Channing co-starred with Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson in the 1975 film The Fortune. Even though she was seen as a rising star, the movie did not do well. In 1977, at 33 years old, Channing was cast as Betty Rizzo in the musical film Grease. The movie was a huge hit when it came out in 1978. Her performance earned her the People's Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture Supporting Actress.
During the late 1970s, Channing also appeared in other films. She played a car thief in Sweet Revenge (1976). She was also in the comedy The Big Bus (1976) and The Cheap Detective (1978). In 1979, she played real-life deaf stuntwoman Kitty O'Neil in the TV movie Silent Victory: The Kitty O'Neil Story.
1980s and Return to Stage
After some TV shows in Hollywood didn't last long, Channing went back to her theater roots. She still appeared in movies, often in supporting roles. These included Without a Trace (1983) and Heartburn (1986).
Channing played the main female role in the Broadway show They're Playing Our Song (1980–81). She then took on the role of Sheila in the play A Day in the Death of Joe Egg. She won the 1985 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for this role.
She continued to shine on stage, earning Tony Award nominations for her roles in The House of Blue Leaves (1986) and Six Degrees of Separation (1990). For Six Degrees of Separation, she also won an Obie Award. In 1988, she won a Drama Desk Award for Best Actress for her role in the play Woman in Mind.
Channing also gained recognition for her TV work. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for the miniseries Echoes in the Darkness (1987). She won a CableACE Award for Tidy Endings (1988). Other TV movies included Not My Kid (1985) and The Room Upstairs (1987).
1990s Film and TV Success
Channing played her lead role again in the film version of Six Degrees of Separation. This performance earned her nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. She then appeared in several films quickly, including To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar and Smoke (both 1995). She also had roles in Up Close and Personal and Moll Flanders (both 1996).
She stayed busy with film, TV, and stage roles throughout the late 1990s. She starred in the TV films An Unexpected Family (1996) and its sequel, An Unexpected Life (1998). She was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her role in The Baby Dance (1998). On stage, she performed in Hapgood (1995) and The Little Foxes (1997). During this time, Channing also provided the voice for Barbara Gordon in the animated series Batman Beyond.
Channing was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress three times in the 1990s. These nominations were for Six Degrees of Separation (1991), Four Baboons Adoring the Sun (1992), and The Lion in Winter (1999).
Playing the First Lady
In 1999, Channing took on the role of First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the TV series The West Wing. She was a guest star for the first two seasons. In 2001, she became a regular cast member. In the show's final season (2005–2006), Channing appeared in only a few episodes. This was because she was also starring in the CBS sitcom Out of Practice at the same time. Out of Practice was canceled after one season.
Recent Work
Channing received several awards in 2002. She won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for The West Wing. In the same year, she won another Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. These were for her role as Judy Shepard in The Matthew Shepard Story, a TV movie about Matthew Shepard's life.
In 2002, Channing also won the London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress for her role in the film The Business of Strangers. In 2003, she received the Lucy Award from Women in Film Los Angeles.
In 2005, Channing won a Daytime Emmy Award for her role in Jack (2004). This Showtime TV movie was about a young man trying to understand why his father left the family. Channing played Jack's mother.
In 2008, she became the narrator for the Animal Planet series Meerkat Manor. In November 2008, she returned to Broadway in the musical Pal Joey. She was nominated for a 2009 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for this role.
From 2012 to 2016, Channing played a recurring role in The Good Wife. She played Veronica Loy, the mother of the main character.
In June 2010, she performed in Dublin as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest. Channing also appeared in the play Other Desert Cities Off-Broadway and then on Broadway in 2011. She was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and a Tony Award for this play. In 2018, she starred in Apologia in London and New York.
Channing also narrated the audiobook “Frankie & Bug” in 2021. In May 2023, Channing appeared in the ITV series “MaryLand”. In 2025, she played Clytemnestra in Sophocles' play Elektra.
Personal Life
Stockard Channing has been married and divorced four times. She does not have any children. She married Walter Channing Jr. in 1963 and kept the name "Stockard Channing" after their divorce in 1967. Her second husband was Paul Schmidt (1970–1976). Her third husband was writer-producer David Debin (1976–1980). Her fourth husband was businessman David Rawle (1980–1988). From 1990 until his death in 2014, Channing was in a long-term relationship with cinematographer Daniel Gillham. They met while working on the film A Time of Destiny.
As of 2019, Channing was living in London.
Filmography
Discography
- Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture (RSO) (1978)
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- "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" featuring Didi Conn, Dinah Manoff and Jamie Donnelly
- "There Are Worse Things I Could Do"
Awards and Nominations
See also
In Spanish: Stockard Channing para niños
