Didi Conn, known for her role as Frenchy in the 1978 musical film "Grease," has returned to the spotlight in a new beauty campaign.
Nearly 50 years after the film's release, the 74-year-old actress appears in an advertisement for Laura Geller Beauty. The campaign playfully references her "Grease" character, Frenchy, who was famously a "beauty school dropout" in the movie.
"Hi there. You might remember when I famously dropped out of beauty school. I thought my life and my hair was ruined and I'd have to spend eternity making expensive salon appointments," Conn says in a clip shared on social media. The monologue promotes the brand's Full Root-ine Hair & Brow Concealing Cream and Powder.
In the ad, Conn is seen wearing a pale pink dress with a pleated skirt and a name tag, a nod to her character's status as a member of the high school girl group, the Pink Ladies. The actress, whose hair in "Grease" was mistakenly dyed a gingery red, sports a chic brunette bob in the campaign.
Conn, who starred alongside John Travolta and the late Olivia Newton-John in "Grease," has previously defended the film against claims of sexism. In 2020, she argued that Sandy's character transformation at the end of the movie was not about conforming to please Danny Zuko, but rather about Sandy becoming more emancipated and true to herself.
"Frenchy always wanted to be a beautician. She wanted to make people beautiful and bring out every great quality in them," Conn stated, relating her character's aspirations to Sandy's journey. She explained that Frenchy's desire to help Sandy, who wanted to be part of the group and have fun, represented Sandy allowing a part of herself to emerge. Conn suggested that Sandy's makeover was about her embracing her own sexuality, not solely to impress Danny.
"It's not so much to get her man but it's to be who she is 100%," Conn said of Sandy's transformation. "She is allowing herself to come through."