The actress, now aged 74, portrayed beauty school dropout Frenchy in the 1978 classic alongside Olivia Newton-John, John Travolta, Stockard Channing and Jeff Conaway. Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE, Didi explained that the cast adopted an unusual approach to help build authentic chemistry on screen.
Staying in Character On and Off Set
"We did something that for me was unique at the time and now I try to do this on other sets," she said. "What happened was most of us were a tad older than the teenagers we were playing. And so, we did a very interesting thing. As soon as we got our makeup on, our hair, whatever, we became the characters we were playing."
That meant cast members stopped using each other's real names while filming, fully embracing their alter egos from Rydell High. "So nobody called me Didi. I was Frenchy," she recalled. "There was Stockard but that was Rizzo."
Building Lasting Bonds
According to Didi, staying in character both on and off set helped create the close bond between the Pink Ladies and T-Birds that audiences have loved for decades. "What happened, our relationship to each other began to form and it was great," she explained. "And it gave us the license to be these crazy high school kids and having fun and being horny or whatever. We just had a wonderful time."
Released in June 1978, Grease became the highest-grossing musical film of its time and spawned a string of enduring hits, including 'You're the One That I Want', 'Summer Nights' and 'Hopelessly Devoted to You'. While almost 50 years have passed since filming wrapped, Didi said the friendships formed during production remain as strong as ever. "And honestly, at the end when we say we'll always be together, we still are," she said. "We're all still friends."
Remembering Olivia Newton-John
Didi previously reflected on her close friendship with Olivia Newton-John during an emotional interview in 2023, sharing details of one of their final conversations before the Grease star's death. Speaking to the New York Post's Page Six, Didi revealed the pair regularly stayed in touch and had spoken while Olivia was in hospital after breaking her leg. "We spoke like once a month or so. She was in the hospital at the time [we last spoke]. She had broken a leg and didn't even notice. Like, her bones were just cracking..."
During the conversation, Olivia was surprised to learn Didi had also been unwell. "She [Olivia] said: 'What?! Why didn't you tell me [you had been ill]?' And the next day, I got this beautiful orchid plant." Didi also recalled a heartbreaking moment just days before Olivia died in August 2022 at the age of 73, saying she feared it was a sign of what was to come. "Three days before she died one of the orchid flowers fell down and my heart stopped. I said, 'I hope that's not a sign.'"
