Even as time goes by, Grease (1978) will always be in the collective memory of several generations as one of the best musicals in history that also launched the careers of John Travolta (72) and Olivia Newton-John, who passed away at the age of 73 in 2022.
A few days ago, one of the actresses who belonged to the Pink Ladies group once again tasted the popularity of yesteryears by starring in the clever marketing campaign for the American beauty brand Laura Geller.
In it, Didi Conn, who brought the fun Frenchy to life - remember her bubblegum pink hair? - recreates the dreamlike scene featuring teenage idol Frankie Avalon. At 74 years old, the actress remains as fun as she was five decades ago.
Although she later appeared in Grease 2 (1982), starring Michele Pfeifer (68) and Maxwell Caulfield (68), she never reached the same levels of popularity again. She appeared in some episodes of The Law and Order: SVU, among other appearances.
The actress married Frank Conn in 1975 and combined her childhood nickname with her married name to create her stage name. They divorced three years later. Since 1984, she has been married to composer David Shire (88), with whom she has a son, Daniel (44). After her son was diagnosed with autism, she has dedicated herself to raising funds for research on the disease. She is also the stepmother of musician Matthew Shire.
Of the other three Pink Ladies, the only one who has had a successful career in the artistic world has been Stockard Channing (Betty Rizzo). Among her most notable works are Smoke (1995), Practical Magic (1998), and the series The West Wing (1999-2005), where she played the First Lady.
To date, she has been awarded three Emmys, two Screen Actors Guild awards, a Tony, a People's Choice Award, and has been nominated for an Oscar, a Grammy, and three Golden Globes, among others.
At 82 years old, she has been married four times and has no children. Her first husband was winemaker and venture capitalist Walter Channing Jr., with whom she was married from 1963 to 1967. Next came Paul Schmidt, a Slavic languages professor from 1970 to 1976, the third was businessman David Rawle (1980-1988), and lastly, cinematographer Daniel Gillham, whom she was widowed from in 2014 after 24 years of marriage.
Jamie Donnelly (Jan), 79, was already a cult figure in theatrical circles for her roles as Trixie and Magenta in the classic The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway and in Los Angeles. Since 1980, she has been married to novelist and screenwriter Stephen H. Foreman, with whom she has two children, Sevi (39) and Madden (37), who work as musicians. While her children were growing up, Jamie worked as an acting coach.
For many years, she lived on a ranch in Montana where she rode horses daily and worked alongside her husband as a screenwriter in Hollywood, with notable work including Desperado (1995), starring Antonio Banderas (65).
Of the four Pink Ladies, the only one who was born into a prosperous and successful artistic environment is Dinah Manoff (70), daughter of screenwriter Arnold Manoff, who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era, and actress Lee Grant, who appeared in In the Heat of the Night, Mulholland Drive, and The Omen, and won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1952 for Brigade 21. Next October, Grant will turn 101 years old.
Two years after Grease, the great Robert Redford chose Manoff for one of the roles in his directorial debut in Ordinary People (1980). For a little over 15 years, she has been retired from acting and has focused on writing. Her first novel is The Real True Hollywood Story of Jackie Gold.
Additionally, she often attends special conventions where she signs autographs whenever Grease is remembered. She lives on an island near Seattle with her husband, real estate agent Arthur Mortell, with whom she has three children, Dashiell (37) and twins Oliver (34) and Desi (34).