'Grease' Star Stockard Channing, 82, Reveals She Left the U.S. for London After Partner's Death: 'I'm Happy Being a Recluse'
Stockard Channing has called London home since moving from Maine in 2019.
Aug. 11 2026, Published 3:30 p.m. ET
Grease icon Stockard Channing has revealed why she quietly left the United States for London, RadarOnline.com can report.
The actress, 82, said she has embraced a peaceful, reclusive life across the Atlantic years after the devastating loss of her longtime partner.
Stockard Channing Made London Her New Home
Stockard Channing said the death of longtime partner Daniel Gillham had a delayed impact on her life.
The actress, who was born in New York, has been living in London since around 2019, relocating from Maine shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Channing became a household name after playing Betty Rizzo in the 1978 musical Grease. But behind the scenes, Channing's personal life was undergoing a major transformation.
She had spent decades with cinematographer Daniel Gillham, whom she began dating in 1990.
However, Gillham died in 2014.
Her Partner's Death Changed Her Life
Stockard Channing said her decision to leave Maine also 'vaguely coincided' with Donald Trump's election.
Speaking to The Times, Channing explained that the grief did not necessarily hit her all at once.
"It was more devastating than I realized; it had a lag effect. The pattern of my life shifted, so I shifted my life from Maine," she explained.
Channing also acknowledged that her move "vaguely coincided" with Donald Trump's election and the changing political climate in the United States.
'Happy Being a Recluse'
Stockard Channing says she has embraced a quieter existence in London and is 'happy being a recluse.'
After making the move across the Atlantic, Channing settled into life in London and appears to have no desire to return to the hectic public lifestyle associated with Hollywood.
"I'm happy being a recluse," she told The Times.
The actress has lived alone since Gillham's death and reflected on the different chapters of her personal life.
"I was married four times before Daniel and they all represent epochs of me," Channing said.
She also connected her views on relationships and marriage to the era in which she grew up, saying, "I grew up in the '60s, reacting to that repressed notion of marriage and s-------- from the '50s– kinda like Rizzo."
The Actress Continues to Work in Her 80s
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Stockard Channing has continued performing at theaters in London.
Channing has largely concentrated on theater since moving to the U.K.
The Tony-winning actress first appeared in the original London production of Six Degrees of Separation in 1992. She later returned to the city for productions including Jamie Lloyd's Apologia at Trafalgar Studios and Night, Mother in 2021.
Last year, Channing appeared opposite Brie Larson in Daniel Fish's production of Elektra. She is now taking on another theater project, directing a production of Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape this month.
The actress is also preparing to return to the big screen, reprising her role in the long-awaited Practical Magic sequel alongside Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock.
