Stockard Channing
Encyclopedia
Stockard Channing is an American stage, film and television actress. She is known for her portrayal of First Lady
Abbey Bartlet
in the NBC
television series The West Wing; for playing Betty Rizzo in the film Grease
; and for her role as Ouisa Kittredge in the play Six Degrees of Separation and its later film version
.
, the daughter of Mary Alice (née
English), who came from a large Brooklyn
-based Irish Catholic
family, and Lester Napier Stockard (died 1960), who was in the shipping business. She grew up on the Upper East Side
. She is an alumna of The Madeira School
, a Virginia boarding school for girls, after starting out at The Chapin School in New York City. She studied history and literature at Radcliffe College
, and graduated in 1965.
debut in Two Gentlemen of Verona — The Musical
, working with playwright John Guare
.
Channing made her television debut on Sesame Street
in the role of the The Number Painter's victim. She landed her first lead role in the 1973 television movie
The Girl Most Likely to...
, a black comedy
written by Joan Rivers
.
After a few small parts in feature films, Channing co-starred with Warren Beatty
and Jack Nicholson
in Mike Nichols
' The Fortune
(1975). On May 22, 1977, Stockard along with Ned Beatty starred in the Pilot for the short lived TV series Lucan. Lucan, played by Kevin Brophy, was a 20-year old who spent the first 10 years of his life running wild in the forest after being raised by Wolves now strikes out on his own in search of his identity. In 1978, at the age of 33, she took on the role of high school teenager Betty Rizzo in the hit musical Grease
. Her performance earned her the People's Choice Awards
for Favorite Motion Picture Supporting Actress. That year, she also played Peter Falk
's secretary in the Neil Simon
film The Cheap Detective
.
on CBS
in 1979 and 1980: Stockard Channing in Just Friends
and The Stockard Channing Show
. In both shows, she co-starred with actress Sydney Goldsmith, who played her best friend in both. Her Hollywood career faltered after these failures, so Channing returned to her theatre roots.
After a run as the female lead in the Broadway show, They're Playing Our Song
(1980–81), she landed the part of the mother in the 1982 New Haven
production of Peter Nichols
' A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
. She reprised the role on Broadway, and won the 1985 Tony Award
for Best Actress in a Play
.
Channing continued her successful return to the stage by teaming up again with playwright John Guare. She received Tony Award nominations for her performances in his plays, The House of Blue Leaves
(1986) and Six Degrees of Separation (1990) (for which she also won an Obie
). Woman in Mind received its American premiere in New York on 17 February 1988 at the Manhattan Theatre Club. The production was directed by Lynne Meadow
and the cast included Channing in the role of Susan, for which she won a Drama Desk Award for best actress. Channing also garnered recognition for her work in television during this time. She was nominated for an Emmy
for the CBS miniseries Echoes in the Darkness
(1987) and won a CableACE Award
for the Harvey Fierstein
-scripted Tidy Endings (HBO, 1988). Channing also appeared in 1989's Staying Together
.
. She was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award
for her performance. She then made several films in quick succession: To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
and Smoke
(both 1995); a cameo appearance
in The First Wives Club
, Up Close and Personal
, and Moll Flanders
(all 1996). For Smoke she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress and for Moll Flanders she was nominated for Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Drama.
Channing kept busy with film, television and stage roles throughout the late 1990s. She starred in the USA Network
film An Unexpected Family in 1996 and in its sequel, An Unexpected Life, in 1998. She was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award as Best Supporting Female for her performance as one-half of an infertile couple in The Baby Dance (also 1998). On stage, she performed at Lincoln Center in Tom Stoppard
's Hapgood (1995) and in the 1997 revival of Lillian Hellman
's The Little Foxes
. During this period, Channing voiced
Barbara Gordon
in the animated series, Batman Beyond
, and in one episode of King of the Hill
.
Channing was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress
three times in the 1990s: in 1991, for Six Degrees of Separation; in 1992, for Four Baboons Adoring the Sun; and in 1999, for The Lion in Winter
.
Abbey Bartlet
in the NBC
television series The West Wing. She was a recurring guest star for the show's first two seasons; she became a regular cast member in 2001. In the seventh and final season of The West Wing (2005–2006), Channing appeared in only four episodes (including the series finale) because she was co-starring (with Henry Winkler
) in the CBS
sitcom
Out of Practice
at the same time. Out of Practice was cancelled by CBS
after one season with The New Adventures of Old Christine
as its replacement.
Channing received several awards in 2002. She won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
for her work on The West Wing. That same year, she also won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie and the Screen Actors Guild
Award for Best Actress in a Television Movie or Miniseries
for her portrayal of Judy Shepard in The Matthew Shepard Story, a docudrama
about Matthew Shepard
's life and murder. Finally, Channing received the 2002 London Film Critics Circle
Award (ALFS) for Best Actress of the Year
for her role in the film The Business of Strangers
. For The Business of Strangers she was also nominated for the American Film Institute
Best Actress award. In 2003, she was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award.
In 2005, Channing won a Daytime Emmy Award
for Outstanding Performer in a Children/Youth/Family Special for Jack, a Showtime television movie
about a young man struggling to understand why his father left the family for another man. She was selected for the second narrator of the Animal Planet
hit series Meerkat Manor
in 2008, replacing Sean Astin
, who did the first three seasons. In November 2008, she returned to Broadway as Vera Simpson in the musical Pal Joey, where she was nominated for the 2009 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical
.
She returned to the stage in June 2010, to Dublin's Gaiety Theatre to play Lady Bracknell in Rough Magic Theatre Company’s production of Oscar Wilde
's The Importance of Being Earnest
. Channing's latest release will be A Fonder Heart
in 2011.
"Stockard Channing" after they divorced in 1967. Her second husband was Paul Schmidt
, a professor of Slavic languages (1970–76), and her third was writer-producer David Debin (1976–80). Her fourth husband was businessman David Rawle (1980–88). She has been in a relationship with cinematographer
Daniel Gillham for more than 20 years; they met on the set of A Time of Destiny
. The couple reside in Maine
when not working. In 2005, Channing pleaded no contest
to driving under the influence
and received 36 months probation.
Short Subjects:
First Lady of the United States
First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...
Abbey Bartlet
Abbey Bartlet
Dr. Abigail Anne "Abbey" Barrington Bartlet, MD, is a fictional character played by Stockard Channing on the television serial drama, The West Wing. In the show, she is the First Lady of the United States, the wife of President Josiah Bartlet.-Overview:...
in the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television series The West Wing; for playing Betty Rizzo in the film Grease
Grease (film)
Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
; and for her role as Ouisa Kittredge in the play Six Degrees of Separation and its later film version
Six Degrees of Separation (film)
Six Degrees of Separation is a 1990 play written by John Guare that premiered at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, Lincoln Center on May 16, 1990, directed by Jerry Zaks and starring Stockard Channing...
.
Early life
Channing was born Susan Antonia Williams Stockard in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the daughter of Mary Alice (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
English), who came from a large Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
-based Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
family, and Lester Napier Stockard (died 1960), who was in the shipping business. She grew up on the Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
. She is an alumna of The Madeira School
The Madeira School
The Madeira School is a private, non-denominational preparatory boarding school for girls located in McLean, Virginia, United States. Originally located on 19th Street near Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., it was founded by Lucy Madeira Wing in 1906 and moved to the Northern Virginia suburb of...
, a Virginia boarding school for girls, after starting out at The Chapin School in New York City. She studied history and literature at Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
, and graduated in 1965.
Beginnings
Channing started her acting career with the experimental Theatre Company of Boston and eventually performed in the group's Off Broadway production of Adaptation/Next. In 1971, she made her BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut in Two Gentlemen of Verona — The Musical
Two Gentlemen of Verona (musical)
Two Gentlemen of Verona is a rock musical, with a book by John Guare and Mel Shapiro, lyrics by Guare and music by Galt MacDermot, based on the Shakespeare comedy of the same name....
, working with playwright John Guare
John Guare
John Guare is an American playwright. He is best known as the author of The House of Blue Leaves, Six Degrees of Separation, and Landscape of the Body...
.
Channing made her television debut on Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
in the role of the The Number Painter's victim. She landed her first lead role in the 1973 television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
The Girl Most Likely to...
The Girl Most Likely to...
The Girl Most Likely to... is a black comedy with slight psychological thriller elements written by Joan Rivers and starring Stockard Channing and Edward Asner. The film was released on November 6, 1973 as a made-for-television movie broadcast on the ABC Movie of the Week...
, a black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
written by Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers is an American comedian, television personality and actress. She is known for her brash manner; her loud, raspy voice with a heavy New York accent; and her numerous cosmetic surgeries...
.
After a few small parts in feature films, Channing co-starred with Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty born March 30, 1937) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He has received a total of fourteen Academy Award nominations, winning one for Best Director in 1982. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.-Early life and...
and Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
in Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols is a German-born American television, stage and film director, writer, producer and comedian. He began his career in the 1950s as one half of the comedy duo Nichols and May, along with Elaine May. In 1968 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film The Graduate...
' The Fortune
The Fortune
The Fortune is a 1975 American comedy film starring Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty, and directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Adrien Joyce focuses on two bumbling con men who plot to steal the money of a wealthy young heiress.-Plot:...
(1975). On May 22, 1977, Stockard along with Ned Beatty starred in the Pilot for the short lived TV series Lucan. Lucan, played by Kevin Brophy, was a 20-year old who spent the first 10 years of his life running wild in the forest after being raised by Wolves now strikes out on his own in search of his identity. In 1978, at the age of 33, she took on the role of high school teenager Betty Rizzo in the hit musical Grease
Grease (film)
Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
. Her performance earned her the People's Choice Awards
People's Choice Awards
The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show recognizing the people and the work of popular culture. The show has been held annually since 1975 and is voted on by the general public. The People's Choice Awards air on CBS and are produced by Procter & Gamble and Survivor magnate Mark Burnett...
for Favorite Motion Picture Supporting Actress. That year, she also played Peter Falk
Peter Falk
Peter Michael Falk was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo...
's secretary in the Neil Simon
Neil Simon
Neil Simon is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has written numerous Broadway plays, including Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and The Odd Couple. He won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Lost In Yonkers. He has written the screenplays for several of his plays that...
film The Cheap Detective
The Cheap Detective
The Cheap Detective is a 1978 American satirical comedy film written by Neil Simon and directed by Robert Moore as a follow-up to their successful Murder by Death ....
.
The 1980s
Channing starred in two short-lived sitcomsSituation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in 1979 and 1980: Stockard Channing in Just Friends
Stockard Channing in Just Friends
Stockard Channing in Just Friends is an American sitcom starring Stockard Channing, who was already known for her appearances in Grease and a few other films before that. Gerrit Graham, Mimi Kennedy, Lou Crisculo and Sydney Goldsmith co-starred with her on the series.The show premiered on CBS on...
and The Stockard Channing Show
The Stockard Channing Show
The Stockard Channing Show is an American sitcom starring Stockard Channing, Ron Silver, Sydney Goldsmith , Max Showalter and Jack Somack....
. In both shows, she co-starred with actress Sydney Goldsmith, who played her best friend in both. Her Hollywood career faltered after these failures, so Channing returned to her theatre roots.
After a run as the female lead in the Broadway show, They're Playing Our Song
They're Playing Our Song
They're Playing Our Song is a musical with a book by Neil Simon, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager, and music by Marvin Hamlisch.In a story based on the real-life relationship of Hamlisch and Sager, a wisecracking composer finds a new, offbeat lyricist, but initially the match is not one made in heaven...
(1980–81), she landed the part of the mother in the 1982 New Haven
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
production of Peter Nichols
Peter Nichols
Peter Nichols FRSL is an English writer of stage plays, film and television.Born in Bristol, England, he was educated at Bristol Grammar School, and served his compulsory National Service as a clerk in Calcutta and later in the Combined Services Entertainments Unit in Singapore where he...
' A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg is a 1967 play by English playwright Peter Nichols, first staged at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland before transferring to London's West End theatres in 1968.-Plot summary:Characters* Bri* Grace* Joe* Freddie...
. She reprised the role on Broadway, and won the 1985 Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Actress in a Play
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:...
.
Channing continued her successful return to the stage by teaming up again with playwright John Guare. She received Tony Award nominations for her performances in his plays, The House of Blue Leaves
The House of Blue Leaves
The House of Blue Leaves is a play by American playwright John Guare, first staged in 1966 by Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut....
(1986) and Six Degrees of Separation (1990) (for which she also won an Obie
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
). Woman in Mind received its American premiere in New York on 17 February 1988 at the Manhattan Theatre Club. The production was directed by Lynne Meadow
Lynne Meadow
Lynne Meadow is an American theatre producer and director and a college professor.A cum laude graduate of Bryn Mawr, Meadow attended the Yale School of Drama...
and the cast included Channing in the role of Susan, for which she won a Drama Desk Award for best actress. Channing also garnered recognition for her work in television during this time. She was nominated for an Emmy
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for the CBS miniseries Echoes in the Darkness
Echoes in the Darkness
Echoes in the Darkness is the title of a 1987 book by crime writer Joseph Wambaugh which also became a made-for-TV movie the same year. The book details the lurid tale of the murder of Pennsylvania's Upper Merion Area High School English teacher Susan Reinert and her two children in 1979. The...
(1987) and won a CableACE Award
CableACE Award
The CableACE Award was an award that was given from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in American cable television programming...
for the Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Forbes Fierstein is a U.S. actor and playwright, noted for the early distinction of winning Tony Awards for both writing and originating the lead role in his long-running play Torch Song Trilogy, about a gay drag-performer and his quest for true love and family, as well as writing the...
-scripted Tidy Endings (HBO, 1988). Channing also appeared in 1989's Staying Together
Staying Together (film)
Staying Together is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Lee Grant and produced by Joseph Feury and Milton Justice. The film stars Sean Astin, Stockard Channing, Melinda Dillon, Levon Helm , Dermot Mulroney, Tim Quill, and Daphne Zuniga...
.
The 1990s
Channing's film career was re-energized in 1993 when she reprised her lead role as an Upper East Side matron in the film version of Six Degrees of SeparationSix Degrees of Separation (film)
Six Degrees of Separation is a 1990 play written by John Guare that premiered at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, Lincoln Center on May 16, 1990, directed by Jerry Zaks and starring Stockard Channing...
. She was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for her performance. She then made several films in quick succession: To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar is a 1995 American comedy film, starring Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, and John Leguizamo as three New York drag queens who embark on a road trip...
and Smoke
Smoke (film)
Smoke is an American independent film released in 1995. It was produced by Hisami Kuroiwa, Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein and directed by Wayne Wang and Paul Auster...
(both 1995); a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in The First Wives Club
The First Wives Club
The First Wives Club is a 1996 comedy film, based on the best-selling 1992 novel of the same name by Olivia Goldsmith. Narrated by Diane Keaton, it stars Keaton, Goldie Hawn, and Bette Midler as three divorced women who seek revenge on their husbands who left them for younger women...
, Up Close and Personal
Up Close and Personal
Up Close And Personal is a 2001 album by American rapper Angie Martinez. It includes the singles "Dem Thangz" and "Coast 2 Coast ", and was released by Warner Music Group's Elektra Records.-Track listing:#"Heart And Soul"...
, and Moll Flanders
Moll Flanders
The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders is a novel written by Daniel Defoe in 1722, after his work as a journalist and pamphleteer. By 1722, Defoe had become a recognised novelist, with the success of Robinson Crusoe in 1719...
(all 1996). For Smoke she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress and for Moll Flanders she was nominated for Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Drama.
Channing kept busy with film, television and stage roles throughout the late 1990s. She starred in the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
film An Unexpected Family in 1996 and in its sequel, An Unexpected Life, in 1998. She was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award as Best Supporting Female for her performance as one-half of an infertile couple in The Baby Dance (also 1998). On stage, she performed at Lincoln Center in Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
's Hapgood (1995) and in the 1997 revival of Lillian Hellman
Lillian Hellman
Lillian Florence "Lily" Hellman was an American playwright, linked throughout her life with many left-wing causes...
's The Little Foxes
The Little Foxes
The Little Foxes is a 1939 play by Lillian Hellman. Its title comes from Chapter 2, Verse 15 in the Song of Solomon in the King James version of the Bible, which reads, "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes." Set in a small town in Alabama in...
. During this period, Channing voiced
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
Barbara Gordon
Barbara Gordon
Barbara Gordon is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and in related media, created by Gardner Fox and Carmine Infantino...
in the animated series, Batman Beyond
Batman Beyond
Batman Beyond is an American animated television series created by Warner Bros. Animation in collaboration with DC Comics as a continuation of the Batman legacy...
, and in one episode of King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
.
Channing was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:...
three times in the 1990s: in 1991, for Six Degrees of Separation; in 1992, for Four Baboons Adoring the Sun; and in 1999, for The Lion in Winter
The Lion in Winter
-Synopsis:Set during Christmas 1183 at Henry II of England's château in Chinon, Anjou, Angevin Empire, the play opens with the arrival of Henry's wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, whom he has had imprisoned since 1173...
.
The West Wing and beyond
In 1999, Channing took on the role of First LadyFirst Lady of the United States
First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...
Abbey Bartlet
Abbey Bartlet
Dr. Abigail Anne "Abbey" Barrington Bartlet, MD, is a fictional character played by Stockard Channing on the television serial drama, The West Wing. In the show, she is the First Lady of the United States, the wife of President Josiah Bartlet.-Overview:...
in the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television series The West Wing. She was a recurring guest star for the show's first two seasons; she became a regular cast member in 2001. In the seventh and final season of The West Wing (2005–2006), Channing appeared in only four episodes (including the series finale) because she was co-starring (with Henry Winkler
Henry Winkler
Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE is an American actor, director, producer, and author.Winkler is best known for his role as Fonzie on the 1970s American sitcom Happy Days...
) in the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Out of Practice
Out of Practice
Out of Practice is an American situation comedy that was originally broadcast on CBS from September 19, 2005 to March 29, 2006. With producers Joe Keenan and Christopher Lloyd at the helm, the show was about a family of five doctors who had little in common and usually did not get along...
at the same time. Out of Practice was cancelled by CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
after one season with The New Adventures of Old Christine
The New Adventures of Old Christine
The New Adventures of Old Christine is an American comedy series starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus which ran for five seasons on CBS from March 13, 2006, to May 12, 2010...
as its replacement.
Channing received several awards in 2002. She won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Drama Series
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series-Superlatives:-1960s:*1960: no award*1961: no award*1962: Pamela Brown – Victoria Regina*1963: Glenda Farrell – Ben Casey...
for her work on The West Wing. That same year, she also won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie and the Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
Award for Best Actress in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Movie
The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest acting achievements in miniseries or television movie.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
for her portrayal of Judy Shepard in The Matthew Shepard Story, a docudrama
Docudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
about Matthew Shepard
Matthew Shepard
Matthew Wayne Shepard was a student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming, in October 1998...
's life and murder. Finally, Channing received the 2002 London Film Critics Circle
London Film Critics Circle
The London Film Critics' Circle is the name by which the Film Section of The Critics' Circle is known internationally.The word London was added because it was thought the term Critics' Circle Film Awards lacked meaning — for people in LA for example — and the Film Section wished its annual Awards...
Award (ALFS) for Best Actress of the Year
London Film Critics Circle Awards 2002
The 23rd London Film Critics' Circle Awards, held on 13 February 2003 at the Dorchester Hotel in London, honoured the best in film for 2002.-Actor of the Year: Michael Caine - The Quiet American *Al Pacino - Insomnia...
for her role in the film The Business of Strangers
The Business of Strangers
The Business of Strangers is a 2001 motion picture that tells the story of an eventful night shared between a middle-aged businesswoman and her young assistant....
. For The Business of Strangers she was also nominated for the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
Best Actress award. In 2003, she was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award.
In 2005, Channing won a Daytime Emmy Award
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
for Outstanding Performer in a Children/Youth/Family Special for Jack, a Showtime television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
about a young man struggling to understand why his father left the family for another man. She was selected for the second narrator of the Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
hit series Meerkat Manor
Meerkat Manor
Meerkat Manor is a British television programme produced by Oxford Scientific Films for Animal Planet International that premiered in September 2005 and ran for four series until its cancellation in August 2008...
in 2008, replacing Sean Astin
Sean Astin
Sean Astin is an American film actor, director, voice artist, and producer better known for his film roles as Mikey Walsh in The Goonies, the title character of Rudy, and Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In television, he appeared as Lynn McGill in the fifth season of 24...
, who did the first three seasons. In November 2008, she returned to Broadway as Vera Simpson in the musical Pal Joey, where she was nominated for the 2009 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical
Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical
The Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical is the Tony Awards award given to the actress who was voted as the best leading actress in a musical, whether a new production or a revival...
.
She returned to the stage in June 2010, to Dublin's Gaiety Theatre to play Lady Bracknell in Rough Magic Theatre Company’s production of Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
's The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at St. James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations...
. Channing's latest release will be A Fonder Heart
A Fonder Heart
A Fonder Heart is an upcoming film directed by Jim Fitzpatrick which loosely follows the plot of Joey Boone, a 15 year-old boy, who shares his hospitalisation time with self-made multimillionaire Craig Thomas.-Background:...
in 2011.
Personal life
Channing has been married and divorced four times; she has no children. She married Walter Channing in 1963 and kept the amalgamated nameAmalgamation (names)
An amalgamated name is a name that is formed by combining several previously existing names. These may take the form of an acronym or a blend ....
"Stockard Channing" after they divorced in 1967. Her second husband was Paul Schmidt
Paul Schmidt (translator)
Paul Schmidt was an American translator, poet, playwright, and essayist.He graduated from Colgate University in 1955, and studied at Harvard University.He studied mime with Marcel Marceau and acting with Jacques Charon....
, a professor of Slavic languages (1970–76), and her third was writer-producer David Debin (1976–80). Her fourth husband was businessman David Rawle (1980–88). She has been in a relationship with cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
Daniel Gillham for more than 20 years; they met on the set of A Time of Destiny
A Time of Destiny (film)
A Time of Destiny is an American drama film directed by Gregory Nava and written by Nava and Anna Thomas. The story is based on the opera La forza del destino by Verdi. The motion picture was executive produced by Shep Gordon and Carolyn Pfeiffer...
. The couple reside in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
when not working. In 2005, Channing pleaded no contest
Nolo contendere
is a legal term that comes from the Latin for "I do not wish to contend." It is also referred to as a plea of no contest.In criminal trials, and in some common law jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an alternative to a pleading of...
to driving under the influence
DUI
DUI is a three letter acronym that may stand for:* Driving under the influence * Democratic Union for Integration — the largest ethnic Albanian party in the Republic of Macedonia* Data Use Identifier...
and received 36 months probation.
Filmography
- The HospitalThe HospitalThe Hospital is a 1971 black comedy film directed by Arthur Hiller and starring George C. Scott as Dr. Herbert Bock. The script was written by Paddy Chayefsky, who was awarded the 1972 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.-Plot:...
(1971) (uncredited) - Up the SandboxUp the SandboxUp The Sandbox is a 1972 American comedy film directed by Irvin Kershner.Paul Zindel's screenplay, based on the novel by Anne Roiphe, focuses on Margaret Reynolds, a young New York City wife and mother who, neglected by her husband and bored with her daily existence, slips into increasingly bizarre...
(1972) - The Girl Most Likely to...The Girl Most Likely to...The Girl Most Likely to... is a black comedy with slight psychological thriller elements written by Joan Rivers and starring Stockard Channing and Edward Asner. The film was released on November 6, 1973 as a made-for-television movie broadcast on the ABC Movie of the Week...
(1973) - The FortuneThe FortuneThe Fortune is a 1975 American comedy film starring Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty, and directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Adrien Joyce focuses on two bumbling con men who plot to steal the money of a wealthy young heiress.-Plot:...
(1975) - Sweet RevengeSweet Revenge (1976 film)Sweet Revenge is a 1976 comedy film directed by Jerry Schatzberg. It was entered into the 1976 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Stockard Channing - Vurrla Kowsky* Sam Waterston - Le Clerq...
(1976) - The Big BusThe Big BusThe Big Bus is a 1976 American James Frawley spoof comedy starring Stockard Channing and Joe Bologna. A spoof of most disaster movies popular at the time, it follows the maiden cross-country trip—New York to Denver, non-stop—of an enormous nuclear powered bus named Cyclops equipped with a bowling...
(1976) - Lucan TV series (1977)
- GreaseGrease (film)Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
(1978) - The Cheap DetectiveThe Cheap DetectiveThe Cheap Detective is a 1978 American satirical comedy film written by Neil Simon and directed by Robert Moore as a follow-up to their successful Murder by Death ....
(1978) - Silent Victory: The Katie O'Neal Story (1979)
- The Fish That Saved PittsburghThe Fish That Saved PittsburghThe Fish That Saved Pittsburgh is an American sports/fantasy comedy film that was released in 1979. The movie was directed by Gilbert Moses and co-produced by David Dashev and Gary Stromberg. It was produced by Lorimar and distributed by United Artists. The rights to the film are currently owned by...
(1979) - Safari 3000Safari 3000Safari 3000 is a 1982 film directed by Harry Hurwitz. The film was shot on location in Africa.-Plot:A reporter follows a stunt driver on a 3000 km race across Africa.-Principal cast:...
(1982) - Without a TraceWithout a Trace (film)Without a Trace is a 1983 dramatic film. It is based on the Beth Gutcheon novel Still Missing, which is loosely-based on the real-life disappearance of Etan Patz. The film stars Kate Nelligan, Judd Hirsch, David Dukes and Stockard Channing.-Plot:...
(1983) - HeartburnHeartburn (film)Heartburn is a 1986 American drama film directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Nora Ephron is based on her semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, which was inspired by her tempestuous second marriage to Carl Bernstein and his affair with Margaret Jay. Rachel is a food writer at a New...
(1986) - The Men's Club (1986)
- Tidy Endings (HBO) (1988)
- A Time of DestinyA Time of Destiny (film)A Time of Destiny is an American drama film directed by Gregory Nava and written by Nava and Anna Thomas. The story is based on the opera La forza del destino by Verdi. The motion picture was executive produced by Shep Gordon and Carolyn Pfeiffer...
(1988) - Staying Together (1989)
- Perfect Witness (1989)
- Meet the Applegates (1991)
- Married to It (1991)
- Bitter MoonBitter MoonBitter Moon is a 1992 film starring Hugh Grant, Kristin Scott Thomas, Emmanuelle Seigner and Peter Coyote and directed by Roman Polanski. The film is known as in France. The script is inspired by a book with the same name, written by the French author Pascal Bruckner. The score was composed by...
(1992) - Six Degrees of SeparationSix Degrees of Separation (film)Six Degrees of Separation is a 1990 play written by John Guare that premiered at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, Lincoln Center on May 16, 1990, directed by Jerry Zaks and starring Stockard Channing...
(1993) - SmokeSmoke (film)Smoke is an American independent film released in 1995. It was produced by Hisami Kuroiwa, Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein and directed by Wayne Wang and Paul Auster...
(1995) - To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie NewmarTo Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie NewmarTo Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar is a 1995 American comedy film, starring Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, and John Leguizamo as three New York drag queens who embark on a road trip...
(1995) - Mr. Willowby's Christmas TreeMr. Willowby's Christmas TreeMr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree is a television Christmas special that first aired in 1995. The special stars Robert Downey, Jr., Leslie Nielsen, and Stockard Channing. It also features Kermit the Frog as a narrator and various other Muppets created exclusively for the special.The special was based...
(1995) - Up Close & PersonalUp Close & PersonalUp Close & Personal is an American romantic drama film directed by Jon Avnet, and starring Robert Redford as a news director and Michelle Pfeiffer as his protegée, with Stockard Channing, Joe Mantegna and Kate Nelligan in supporting roles....
(1996) - Edie & Pen (1996)
- Moll FlandersMoll Flanders (1996 film)Moll Flanders is a 1996 film starring Robin Wright and Morgan Freeman. The film was directed by Pen Densham. The original music score was composed by Mark Mancina...
(1996) - The First Wives ClubThe First Wives ClubThe First Wives Club is a 1996 comedy film, based on the best-selling 1992 novel of the same name by Olivia Goldsmith. Narrated by Diane Keaton, it stars Keaton, Goldie Hawn, and Bette Midler as three divorced women who seek revenge on their husbands who left them for younger women...
(1996) - The Prosecutors (TV) (1996)
- An Unexpected Family (TV) (1996)
- TwilightTwilight (1998 film)Twilight is a 1998 thriller/Neo-noir film directed by Robert Benton. It stars Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman, Reese Witherspoon, Stockard Channing, and James Garner...
(1998) - Lulu on the BridgeLulu on the BridgeLulu on the Bridge is a 1998 romantic mystery drama film directed by author Paul Auster. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:...
(1998) - The Baby Dance (1998)
- Practical MagicPractical MagicPractical Magic is a 1998 American fantasy film directed by Griffin Dunne and starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as witches who carry on a family legacy of witchcraft and tragedy. The film is based on a book of the same name by Alice Hoffman...
(1998) - An Unexpected Life (TV) (1998)
- The Venice ProjectThe Venice ProjectThe Venice Project is a 1999 drama film directed by Robert Dornhelm. It stars Lauren Bacall and Dennis Hopper, and included a cameo appearance from Steve Martin.-Cast:*Lauren Bacall ... Countess Camilla Volta*Dennis Hopper ... Roland / Salvatore...
(1999) - Batman BeyondBatman BeyondBatman Beyond is an American animated television series created by Warner Bros. Animation in collaboration with DC Comics as a continuation of the Batman legacy...
(8 episodes, 1999–2000) - Other Voices (2000)
- Isn't She GreatIsn't She GreatIsn't She Great is a 2000 American biographical film.A highly fictionalized account of the life and career of best-selling author Jacqueline Susann, the Universal Pictures release focuses on her early struggles as an aspiring actress relentlessly hungry for fame, her relationship with press agent...
(2000) - The Truth About JaneThe Truth About JaneThe Truth About Jane is a Lifetime Original Movie, directed by Lee Rose, that first aired on TV on August 7, 2000 and stars Stockard Channing, Ellen Muth, Kelly Rowan and RuPaul...
(2000) - Where the Heart IsWhere the Heart Is (2000 film)Where the Heart Is is a 2000 drama/romance film directed by Matt Williams and produced by Susan Cartsonis, David McFadzean, Patricia Whitcher and Matt Williams. Filmed in Austin, Texas, and Waco, Texas at Baylor University. The movie stars Natalie Portman and Ashley Judd...
(2000) - The Business of StrangersThe Business of StrangersThe Business of Strangers is a 2001 motion picture that tells the story of an eventful night shared between a middle-aged businesswoman and her young assistant....
(2001) - A Girl Thing (2001)
- Pearl Harbor: Death of the Arizona (2001) (documentary) (narrator)
- Life or Something Like ItLife or Something Like ItLife or Something Like It is a 2002 romantic comedy film directed by Stephen Herek. The film focuses on television reporter Lanie Kerrigan and her quest to find meaning in her life. The original music score was composed by David Newman...
(2002) - Confessions Of An Ugly StepsisterConfessions of an Ugly StepsisterConfessions of an Ugly Stepsister is a novel by Gregory Maguire, retelling the tale of Cinderella through the eyes of one of her "ugly stepsisters." In 2002, the book was adapted into a TV movie of the same name, directed by Gavin Millar.-Plot:...
(2002) - Behind the Red Door (2002)
- The Matthew Shepard Story (2002)
- Hitler: The Rise of EvilHitler: The Rise of EvilHitler: The Rise of Evil is a Canadian TV miniseries in two parts, directed by Christian Duguay and produced by Alliance Atlantis. It explores Adolf Hitler's rise and his early consolidation of power during the years after World War I and focuses on how the embittered, politically fragmented and...
(2003) - Bright Young ThingsBright Young ThingsBright Young Things is a 2003 British drama film written and directed by Stephen Fry. The screenplay, based on the 1930 novel Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh, provides satirical social commentary about the Bright Young People: young and carefree London aristocrats and bohemians, as well as society in...
(2003) - The Piano Man's DaughterThe Piano Man's Daughter (film)The Piano Man's Daughter is a television movie, adapted in 2003 by Sullivan Entertainment from the 1995 novel by Timothy Findley.Rights to the novel's film adaptation were originally purchased by Whoopi Goldberg...
(2003) - Le DivorceLe DivorceLe Divorce is a 2003 Merchant Ivory Productions' film directed by James Ivory and the screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and Ivory, based on Diane Johnson's bestselling novel.-Summary:...
(2003) - Anything ElseAnything ElseAnything Else is a 2003 romantic comedy film. The film was written and directed by Woody Allen, produced by his sister Letty Aronson, and stars Jason Biggs, Christina Ricci, Woody Allen, Stockard Channing, Danny DeVito, Jimmy Fallon and KaDee Strickland....
(2003) - Abby SingerAbby Singer (film)Abby Singer is a darkly comic tale that chronicles the life of Curtis Clemins, who is torn between the love of his life and accomplishing his dream. Originally released in 2003, there was a different version released in 2006 and a limited DVD release in 2007. The film had some film festival...
(2003) (cameo) - Home of the BraveHome of the Brave (2004 film)Home of the Brave is a 2004 film directed by Paola di Florio. It is a documentary about Viola Liuzzo, a white civil rights activist who was murdered in 1965 in Selma, Alabama, USA, as she campaigned for black suffrage....
(2004) (documentary) (narrator) - JackJack (2004 film)Jack is a 2004 drama film written by A. M. Holmes and directed by Lee Rose, released on March 2, 2004. The film is about a boy whose life is torn apart because of his parents divorce. The film stars Anton Yelchin, Erich Anderson, Brent Spiner.-Plot:...
(2004) - Red Mercury (2005)
- Must Love DogsMust Love DogsMust Love Dogs is a 2005 romantic comedy film based on the book written by Claire Cook. It is the third film directed and written by Gary David Goldberg. The film, starring Diane Lane and John Cusack, was produced on a budget of $30 million...
(2005) - 3 Needles3 Needles3 Needles is a 2005 Canadian drama film directed by Thom Fitzgerald. The title, refers to the three main characters who make a deal with the Devil in order to survive a global epidemic...
(2005) - Out of PracticeOut of PracticeOut of Practice is an American situation comedy that was originally broadcast on CBS from September 19, 2005 to March 29, 2006. With producers Joe Keenan and Christopher Lloyd at the helm, the show was about a family of five doctors who had little in common and usually did not get along...
(21 episodes, 2005–2006) - The West Wing (62 episodes, 1999–2006)
- SparkleSparkle (2007 film)Sparkle is a 2007 movie written and directed by Tom Hunsinger and Neil Hunter and was shot on location in London, Liverpool and the Isle of Man.- Cast :...
(2007) - Multiple SarcasmsMultiple SarcasmsMultiple Sarcasms is a 2009 American drama-genre film starring Timothy Hutton, Mira Sorvino, Stockard Channing, Dana Delany, Chris Sarandon and Mario Van Peebles...
(2009) - A Fonder HeartA Fonder HeartA Fonder Heart is an upcoming film directed by Jim Fitzpatrick which loosely follows the plot of Joey Boone, a 15 year-old boy, who shares his hospitalisation time with self-made multimillionaire Craig Thomas.-Background:...
(2011)
Short Subjects:
- The Lion Roars Again (1975)
- A Different Approach (1978)
- From the Bottom Up (2004)