Actress Stockard Channing, 82, has revealed she has adopted a "reclusive" lifestyle in London after relocating from the United States in 2019. The move was prompted by a combination of personal loss and a shift in the American political landscape.
Channing, known for her role as Rizzo in the 1978 film "Grease" and as First Lady Abbey Bartlet in "The West Wing," explained her decision in an interview with The Sunday Times Magazine. She stated that the death of her long-time partner, producer Dan Gillham, in 2014 had a "lag effect" and significantly altered the pattern of her life, leading her to move from her home in Maine.
"It vaguely coincided with Trump getting elected and the way politics has changed in the U.S.," Channing said, noting a sentiment of nostalgia for a perceived era of greater integrity in politics, as depicted in "The West Wing."
Channing, who has been married and divorced four times, has lived alone since Gillham's passing over a decade ago. "I’m happy being a recluse," she stated, though she also reflected on the potential for companionship, saying, "Children were thought about and, yeah, I think about them now because it’d be great to have someone taking care of me. But hey, children can be just as selfish as everybody else out there."
Her personal history includes marriages to Walter Channing Jr., Paul Schmidt, David Deblin, and David Rawle. Her most recent relationship was with cinematographer and producer Daniel Gillham, from 1990 until his death in 2014.
Channing is also embarking on a directorial debut with a production of Samuel Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape" at the Edinburgh Festival. The production aims to raise funds for The Wembley to Soweto Foundation. Later this year, she is set to reprise her role as Aunt Frances Owens in the anticipated release of "Practical Magic 2."