Stockard Channing was born Susan Williams Antonia Stockard on February 13, 1944, in New York. She acted on the stage and in a few movies before she made her career-making hit movie, Grease in 1978. She was 32 years old when she played teenage bad-girl, Betty Rizzo. Though she was passed over for the same role on Broadway, Channing made dozens of movies and television shows. Some of the most famous among the movies are: Heartburn, The First Wives' Club, Moll Flanders, and Practical Magic.

Channing won both an Oscar and a Tony award for her role in the screen and stage adaptations of Six Degrees of Separation. She has won other theatre awards for roles on Broadway and off-Broadway, as well as several Emmy awards, most recently for her portrayal of First Lady Abigail Bartlett on TV's The West Wing, and for her performance in The Matthew Shepard Story. She has also appeared in the TV series, Out of Practice, and in the films Jack (2004), Red Mercury, Must Love Dogs and 3 Needles (all made in 2005), and Sparkle (2007).

Last updated: March 24, 2009.

© 1999-present by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.