“I guess my father’s death…made me more resilient and more independent. I became pretty willful and rebellious during that time."
(TV Week Australia, October 2001)

 Stockard attended Radcliffe College where she studied History and Literature. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1965. While at Harvard, she discovered a passion for acting and was cast in over thirty student and experimental theater productions. Her decision to pursue acting represented an enormous departure from her fairly conventional upbringing, shocked her family, and transformed her life:

“The need to act blew my life apart. It was like I ran off and joined the circus." 
(US Weekly, February 2001)

Among her colleagues in the Boston theater community during the 1960s were the actors Tommy Lee Jones, John Lithgow, James Woods and Timothy Mayer. After graduation, she spent several years at the Theater Company of Boston. Stockard never received formal acting training, but her years in Boston helped her hone her craft.

 She has been married four times. First, to artist and businessman Walter Channing (1963-1967), then to the playwright Paul Schmidt (1970-1976), then to screenwriter and producer David Debin (1976-1980), and finally to businessman David Rawle (1980-1988). She has been with Daniel Gillham, a cinematographer, since 1988 when they met on the set of the film “A Time of Destiny.” They have two dogs, named Nabby Adams and Bishop, both adopted strays from film productions. They live on the coast of Maine, although when she’s working, Stockard spends a great deal of time in New York City, Los Angeles, and on location.

 Stockard has experienced many ups and downs over the course of her career. She has described this ebb and flow as “tide in, tide out.” Her big break came in 1975 when Mike Nichols cast her in “The Fortune” alongside Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson. After several lean years, she was cast in the blockbuster 1978 film “Grease,” which brought her to national attention for the first time. Despite the film’s success, her career stagnated during the 1980s.

Wisely, she returned to the stage, where she has received perhaps her greatest accolades, including a Tony Award in 1985. From the mid-1980s to the late-1990s, she appeared in numerous stage productions, most notably the New York and London productions of John Guare’s “Six Degrees of Separation.” In 1993, she made the all-too-rare leap from stage to screen in the highly acclaimed film adaptation of “Six Degrees.” Along the way, Stockard has starred in numerous television movies and has, at long last, gained some measure of mainstream success with her role on NBC-TV’s “The West Wing.” In 2001, her stunning performance in the independent film “The Business of Strangers” generating significant critical acclaim.  And her upcoming performances in the Merchant Ivory film "Le Divorce" and Woody Allen's new project "Anything Else" will no doubt give her an opportunity to shine once again.

Stockard has weathered the ebbs and flows of her personal and professional life with great strength and humor. She has described this time as “one of the best times of my life."
(BRAVO Profiles, December 2001)

 Over the years, Stockard has more than earned the admiration of her colleagues and fans and has gained a reputation for being an especially intelligent, versatile actor. Whether on stage (she won a Tony Award for her performance in “A Day in the Death of Joe Egg”), on screen (she was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in “Six Degrees of Separation”), or on television (she has received nine Emmy nominations over the years, and in September 2002, she was finally honoured... with two Emmys - one for her performances on "The West Wing" and another for her role in "The Matthew Shepard Story"), Stockard Channing excels at everything.