Stockard Channing shared a rare glimpse at her life outside of the spotlight following the death of longtime partner Daniel Gillham.
“Since just before COVID I’ve been living in London,” Channing, 82, told the U.K.’s Sunday Times. “My partner, Daniel, died in 2014 and 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.”
The Grease star acknowledged that her move across the pond “vaguely coincided” with political shifts in the U.S. before sharing more insight into her experience living solo.
“I’ve lived alone since I lost Daniel and I’m happy being a recluse. I was married four times before Daniel and they all represent epochs of me,” she added. “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.”
Channing met Gillham, a cinematographer, on set of the 1988 movie A Time of Destiny. They were together from 1990 until his death in 2014.
The West Wing alum was previously married to Walter Channing Jr. from 1963 to 1967, to Paul Schmidt from 1970 to 1976, to David Debin from 1976 to 1980 and to David Rawle from 1980 to 1988.
As for her daily routine in London, the actress keeps things simple.
“If I’m leaving the apartment I comb my hair, but I don’t have a wardrobe of designer outfits,” she told the outlet. “Well, I do, but they’re all from the ’80s and ’90s. Do I care how I look? Most actors do — although part of your job is not being self-conscious. But I’ve never considered myself as beautiful. And I’m not a celebrity ‘tart.’ I’m just me, take it or leave it.”
She continued, “Pottering is my meditation; moving things from that pile to that pile. I may read and fall asleep around 11. If I can’t sleep, it’s probably just my subconscious clearing out stuff. Do I ever feel anxious? Sure, but that’s the price you pay for getting rid of the garbage.”
Though she’s largely stepped away from Hollywood fanfare, fans will see Channing return to the big screen later this year in Practical Magic 2 alongside Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman and Dianne Wiest.
Channing is also working behind the scenes, directing a stage production at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
“But I’m not sure I’ll do anything after that,” she noted to The Times. “Acting is like everything in life; you never know what’s going to happen.”
