Stockard Channing makes rare red carpet appearance at “Practical Magic” “2” premiere after living as ‘recluse’
Stockard Channing makes rare red carpet appearance at “Practical Magic” “2” premiere after living as ‘recluse’
Marina WattsThu, August 27, 2026 at 3:36 PM UTC
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Stockard Channing at the European premiere of ‘Practical Magic 2’ in London in August 2026Credit: Shutterstock / Fred DuvalKey Points -
Stockard Channing joined her Practical Magic 2 costars, including Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, for the European premiere of the movie.
Weeks before her the outing, she penned an essay for the Sunday Times about becoming reclusive.
Practical Magic 2 premieres in theaters on Friday, Sept. 11.
Stockard Channing had an enchanting night out this week.
The Greaseicon joined her costars at the European of Practical Magic 2 this week at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London.
Channing posed with Nicole Kidman, Sandra BullockDianne Wiest, Maisie Williams, Joey King, Xolo Maridueña, and Solly McLeod, marking her first red carpet appearance in two years. (She last stepped out for the press night performance of Hello, Dolly! at the London Palladium in 2024.)
In Practical Magic 2, Channing reprises her role as Aunt Frances Owens.
Stockard Channing at the European premiere of ‘Practical Magic 2’ in London in August 2026Credit: Shutterstock / Fred Duval
Channing’s night out comes weeks after she penned a candid essay for the Sunday Times about becoming a “recluse” following the death of her partner producer, Dan Gillham, in 2014.
Writing that his death was “more devastating than I realized,” she said her move from Maine to London “vaguely coincided with Trump getting elected and the way politics has changed in the US.”
“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.”
Channing continued, “I grew up in the Sixties, reacting to that repressed notion of marriage and sexuality from the Fifties — kinda like Rizzo. 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.”
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Different generations know Channing from different roles. Outside of Practical Magic and playing Rizzo in Grease, Channing appeared as First Lady Abby Bartlet in The West Wing, Ouisa in Six Degrees of Separationand had a role in First Wives Club.
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In her essay, Channing revealed that she will be directing Samuel Beckett’s one-act play Krapp’s Last Tape in Edinburgh later this year, but isn’t sure what might come next. “Acting is like everything in life; you never know what’s going to happen,” she wrote.
She also detailed what her day-to-day life looks like, which includes keeping a diary, her “very large, very old” dog Benny, and falling asleep around 11 p.m.
“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.”
Xolo Maridueña, Maisie Williams, Sandra Bullock, Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest, Nicole Kidman, Joey King, and Solly Mcleod at the European premiere of ‘Practical Magic 2’ in London in August 2026Credit: Kate Green/Getty
Per an official synopsis, Practical Magic 2, the follow-up to the 1998 film, returns to a world steeped in moonlit mischief and powerful ancestral magic, as the Owens sisters must confront the dark curse that threatens to unravel their family once and for all in a must-see cinematic event of fun, magic and mayhem.”
Practical Magic 2 premieres in theaters on Friday, Sept. 11.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
