Annette Charles (née Cardona; March 5, 1948 – August 3, 2011) was an American actress, dancer, and educator best known for her role as Charlene "Cha-Cha" DiGregorio in the 1978 feature film '' Grease''. She made several appearances on television as well.

Early life

Charles was born Annette Cardona in Los Angeles, California, of Mexican and Italian ancestry.

Career

Charles became an actress, and was best known for her role as Charlene "Cha Cha" DiGregorio in the 1978 feature film '' Grease''. She made several appearances on television as well. Charles later earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

Antioch University Los Angeles Antioch University Los Angeles (AULA) is a campus of Antioch University in Culver City, California. Background Antioch College was founded in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Horace Mann, Antioch College's first president's goal was to create an educatio ...

in psychology and theater, and a master's degree in social work from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

before becoming a speech communication professor in the Chicano Studies department at

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as of Fall 2024), it has the ...

Personal life and death

Charles died on August 3, 2011, in Los Angeles from lung cancer, aged 63. She initially was hospitalized for pneumonia.

Credits

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, Annette 1948 births 2011 deaths Actresses from Los Angeles American film actresses American television actresses California State University, Northridge faculty Deaths from lung cancer in California New York University School of Social Work alumni 21st-century American women American people of Italian descent American actresses of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American actresses