Where are the cast of Grease now, almost 50 years after the iconic film's release?
Not all of the Pink Ladies and T-Birds lived happily ever after
John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John burst onto cinema screens in Grease back in June 1978, cementing their star status as Danny and Sandy in the original high school musical that’s just as beloved now as it was back in the 1970s.
You can catch the movie on ITV1 today (Sunday, December 28) from 12.40pm. Now, almost five decades on from the movie, we take a look at where the cast are now. Sadly, they didn’t all get their happy ever after…
Grease icon Olivia Newton-John
Grease star Olivia played Sandy Olsson in the iconic movie. Sadly, she died back in 2022 after a long fight with cancer, at the age of 73.
Olivia was a singer and actress, selling more than 100 million records worldwide and even appearing in Glee as a fictional version of herself.
Her life was marred by tragedy, though. In 2005, her long-term partner Patrick McDermott mysteriously vanished. Patrick, who was 48, was on an overnight fishing trip off the California coast with several other people. He went missing before the boat returned to shore, with the people on board only realising he was gone when they’d docked.
The mystery has never been solved. And, in 2009, Olivia told Australia’s Women’s Weekly: “I don’t think I will ever really be at peace with it. I think there will always be a question mark.”
Olivia also lived with cancer for many years before her death She was first diagnosed with the illness in 1992, and it returned in 2013 and then again in 2017. But the star was determined to embrace a positive way of thinking.
Speaking on The Today Show in 2020, she said: “Cancer can engulf your mind and engulf your being. And I try not to live my life with that in my mind all the time.”
John Travolta played Danny Zuko
Olivia’s Grease co-star John Travolta, now 71, was also affected by cancer.
In 2020, the actor announced in a moving post on social media that his actress wife Kelly Preston had died after a private two-year battle with breast cancer.
He said: “It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my beautiful wife, Kelly, has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer. She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many.
“Kelly’s love and life will always be remembered,” he added.
John and Kelly had three children together – daughter Ella Bleu and sons Benjamin and Jett.
Sadly, Jett passed away during a family holiday in 2009 when he was 16, after suffering a seizure. John later said it was “the worst thing that’s ever happened in my life”.
After Grease, he went on to appear in a number of box-office hits, including Pulp Fiction, Get Shorty, Face/Off, and Look Who’s Talking.
Kenickie star Jeff Conaway
Jeff, who starred as Kenickie in the movie, waged a long battle with substance abuse issues and spent time in rehab.
There were reports that he hurt his back filming a scene in Grease and that when something later exacerbated the injury, it led to troubles with painkillers.
In 2008, fans were given an insight into his struggle with alcohol and drug addiction when he appeared on the reality show Celebrity Rehab.
Sadly, in 2011, the actor, who was also in the TV series Taxi, was found unconscious at home and was taken to the hospital.
He died days later at the age of 60. It was later confirmed that Jeff’s death was caused by a major internal infection.
Annette Charles and Dennis Cleveland Stewart
US actress and dancer Annette died just months after Jeff, aged 63.
The star, who played Charlene “Cha-Cha” DiGregorio in the film, had been battling lung cancer. She had initially been hospitalised for pneumonia.
Meanwhile, Dennis is well-known to Grease fans as Leo “Crater Face” Balmudo, the leader of the Scorpions gang.
The actor was diagnosed with HIV in 1993. Sadly, he passed away the following year as a result of complications from AIDS, aged 46.
Rizzo icon Stockard Channing
Meanwhile, many of the other cast members are still acting.
Stockard Channing, who played Betty Rizzo, is now 81 and is still booked and busy. After Grease, she played First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series The West Wing and played the recurring role of Veronica Loy in The Good Wife.
Stockard is also an acclaimed stage actress. And has movie Practical Magic 2 coming out in 2026. It’s a sequel to the 1998 film and she’ll be starring alongside Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman.
Stockard has been married four times, but never had children. As of 2019, she was living in London.
Frenchie star Didi Conn
Dancing On Ice fans will have seen the star on the ITV skating show before it was shelved. However, she had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance, being eliminated third in the 2019 series.
Didi, now 74, who played Frenchie, recently starred in Harlan Coben’s Shelter in 2023 and in two episodes of the Amazon Prime show, Overcompensating.
The star, who has a pretty iconic voice, has also done a lot of voiceover work, for cartoons including The Jetsons, The Flintstones and Stanley.
The rest of the cast – including the T-Birds and Pink Ladies
Dinah Manoff, who played the role of Marty Maraschino in the movie, is now 69 and last starred in Cult of Chucky in 2017.
Jamie Donnelly, who played Pink Lady Jane, is now 78 years old. After Grease, she had a number of small roles, last appearing in 2017’s Cargo.
Doody actor Barry Pearl is now 75 and made his last TV appearance in Grease: Live on Fox in 2016.
Sonny LaTierri actor Michael Tucci, 79, last acted on screen in 2015. He has also worked as a high school teacher since his Grease days.
Kelly Ward, who starred as Putzie in the iconic movie, is now 69 and has turned to screenwriting since his Grease role. He also teaches musical theatre at the University of Southern California.
Edward Deezen, now 68, has made a career of playing the geek after his role as Eugene in Grease. Demand for the actor was so high, he even had to turn down roles. He was one of seven characters who returned for Grease 2, though. He voiced a character in The Polar Express and The SpongeBob Movie. He also voiced Mandark in the Cartoon Network series Dexter’s Laboratory.
Sadly, actress Susan Buckner – who played Patty Simcox – died in 2024. She was 72. She stepped away from showbiz after Grease to concentrate on raising her family.
Grease airs from 12.40pm today (Sunday, December 28) on ITV1 and ITVX.
Read more: I’m A Celebrity 2025: Fans convinced Ruby Wax starred in Grease and Aitch is from 90s pop band Steps
