Where Is the Cast of “Grease” Now, Nearly 50 Years After the Movie’s Release?

Diana Pearl, Nicole PomaricoWed, August 12, 2026 at 3:00 PM UTC

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Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in ‘Grease’Credit: Everett

Nearly 50 years after the movie first hit theaters, Greaseis still an iconic piece of pop culture history.

The cast of the movie is largely what made Grease such a huge success, and in the process, playing the role of Danny Zuko helped catapult John Travolta into superstardom after Grease premiered in theaters on June 16, 1978.

Though several of the film’s stars — Olivia Newton-John, Susan Buckner and Jeff Conaway — have died, the movie’s larger-than-life legacy remains, with legions of fans rewatching the film and sharing the classic clips on social media. On any given Halloween, you’re bound to see Sandy and Danny costumes wherever you look, and the music remains some of the most iconic to be on stage or screen.

Most recently, actress Stockard Channing, who played Betty Rizzo in the film, opened up about her reclusive life in London over a decade after her longtime partner, Daniel Gillham, died in 2014. “The pattern of my life shifted, so I shifted my life from Maine,” she wrote in an August 2026 essay for The Sunday Times.

See where the cast of Grease is now, nearly five decades since the film premiered.

01 of 11

John Travolta as Danny Zuko

John Travolta in ‘Grease’; John Travolta in 2026Credit: HA/THA/Shutterstock; Jamie McCarthy/Getty

Travolta has had a fruitful career in the decades since Grease. He married Kelly Preston in 1991 and has acted in tons of movies, including Pulp Fiction (1994), Face/Off (1997), Wild Hogs (2007), Hairspray (2007), Bolt (2008), Savages (2012), Gotti (2018), The Fanatic (2019) and Paradise City (2022).

Travolta also notably starred in the critically acclaimed 2016 miniseries The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, for which he earned an Emmy nomination for playing Robert Shapiro, lead defense attorney in the controversial O.J. Simpson murder trial. He won an Emmy as part of the anthology series’ producing team.

These days, Travolta often posts videos to social media of time spent with daughter Ella Bleu and son Benjamin. He also made his feature film directorial debut in 2026 with the project Propeller One-Way Night Coach, which starred his daughter

In 2009, he and Preston tragically lost their older son Jett after he had a seizure and hit his head on a bathtub. Preston died of breast cancer in July 2020, two years after being diagnosed.

02 of 11

Olivia Newton-John as Sandy Olsson

Olivia Newton-John in ‘Grease’; Oliva Newton-John in 2019Credit: CBS via Getty; Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images

Newton-John died after a 30-year journey with breast cancer at age 73 in 2022, but her legacy will live on forever. She’s best remembered for her Grammy-winning music career and memorable screen turns including Grease,Xanadu and Glee.

She released a number of successful studio albums, the best known being Physical in 1981. She also did a great deal of advocacy work and was made a UN ambassador on the environment in 1990.

Newton-John is survived by her daughter, Chloe Lattanzi, and husband John Easterling.

03 of 11

Stockard Channing as Betty Rizzo

Stockard Channing in ‘Grease’; Stockard Channing in 2025Credit: Paramount+; Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty

Following her Grease days, Channing really hit her stride in the world of TV, playing the Emmy-winning role of First Lady Abbey Bartlet on The West Wing for seven years.

She was also a frequent player on the Broadway stage, appearing in shows like It’s Only a Play and Other Desert Cities.

In August 2026, Channing wrote an essay for The Sunday Times, revealing that she is now living in London following the death of her longtime partner, Daniel Gillham, in 2014.

“I’ve lived alone since I lost Daniel, and I’m happy being a recluse,” she wrote in the essay. “I was married four times before Daniel, and they all represent epochs of me. I grew up in the ‘60s, reacting to that repressed notion of marriage and sexuality from the ‘50s — kinda like Rizzo.”

Channing, who turned 80 in 2024, guest-starred on The Good Wife over several seasons and continues to appear on various television shows. She is also reprising her role in Practical Magic 2.

04 of 11

Jeff Conaway as Kenickie

Jeff Conaway in ‘Grease’; Jeff Conaway in 2010Credit: Paramount Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty; Amy Graves/WireImage

Post-Grease, Conaway earned a part on the show Taxi and continued with music as the frontman for the band 3 1/2. In his personal life, he had problems with drug use and often spoke out about his experiences with substance abuse.

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In 2011, Conaway died at age 60 from pneumonia with sepsis.

05 of 11

Susan Buckner as Patty Simcox

Susan Buckner in ‘Grease’; Susan Buckner in 2018Credit: Paramount+; Bobby Bank/Getty

Following her breakthrough role in Grease, Buckner went on to star in shows such as The Love Boat and The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries and also did some film work in movies like Police Academy 6: City Under Siege and Deadly Blessing.

However, the actress left the business behind in the ‘80s to raise her two children.

On May 7, 2024, a publicist for her family revealed the actress had died, saying, “Susan died peacefully on May 2 surrounded by loved ones.” A cause of death wasn’t revealed.

Buckner is survived by Mansfield, her son Adam Josephs, grandchildren Oliver, Riley, Abigail and Ruby, as well as her sister Linda, daughter-in-law Noel Josephs, son-in-law Adam Mansfield and longtime partner Al. She was 72.

06 of 11

Didi Conn as Frenchy

Didi Conn in ‘Grease’; Didi Conn in 2026Credit: Paramount; Gareth Cattermole/Getty

Conn starred in a number of television shows after her Grease days, including The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, Benson and Shining Time Station.

In 2008, she was named a national celebrity spokesperson for Autism Speaks (her son, Daniel, has autism).

Conn has stayed close to the franchise through the years: She reprised her role in 1982’s Grease 2 and appeared in Grease Live! in 2016, playing the Frosty Palace’s head waitress, Vi.

07 of 11

Michael Tucci as Sonny LaTierri

Michael Tucci in ‘Grease’; Michael Tucci in 2024Credit: CBS via Getty; Paul Archuleta/Getty

Audiences saw a lot of Tucci on screen in the late ‘80s and mid ‘90s: The actor appeared on shows It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, Flying Blind and Diagnosis: Murder.

He took a long break from acting in the aughts, with no credits from 2002 to 2012, but returned to the scene with a role in the 2013 film The Heat. In 2018, he had a six-episode arc on The Rich & the Ruthless.

08 of 11

Dinah Manoff as Marty Maraschino

Dinah Manoff in ‘Grease’; Dinah Manoff in 1978Credit: CBS via Getty; Albert L. Ortega/WireImage

Manoff worked steadily since Grease: She snagged big roles on shows like Soap, Empty Nest and State of Grace and hit the Great White Way with a bang when she won a Tony Award in 1980 for best performance by a featured actress in a play for I Ought to Be in Pictures.

09 of 11

Barry Pearl as Doody

Barry Pearl in ‘Grease’; Barry Pearl in 2024Credit: CBS via Getty; Paul Archuleta/Getty

Since Grease, Pearl has been a staple guest actor on countless TV shows, including Eight Is Enough;Murder, She Wrote and Beverly Hills, 90210. He has also appeared on Broadway in shows such as The Producers. Pearl appeared in Grease Live! and had roles in Straight Outta Oz (2016), The Silent Natural (2019) and The Walls Are Watching (2022).

10 of 11

Jamie Donnelly as Jan

Jamie Donnelly in ‘Grease’; Jamie Donnelly in 2016Credit: CBS via Getty; Tara Ziemba/Getty

After Grease, Donnelly took a break from acting for 20 years. But in 1998, she came out of retirement. She’s since appeared alongside Marisa Tomei and John C. Reilly in the 2010 film Cyrus, the 2015 Johnny Depp film Black Mass and 2020’s Souvenirs. Donnelly has worked off-camera, too, as an acting coach.

11 of 11

Kelly Ward as Putzie

Kelly Ward in ‘Grease’; Kelly Ward in August 2018Credit: CBS via Getty Images; Bobby Bank/Getty Images

Grease was one of Ward’s very first roles, and though he continued in voice work, he’s actually spent more time as a screenwriter and animator for Disney and MGM. According to Entertainment Weekly, he even worked as a musical theater professor at the University of Southern California for a time.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”