Lifestyle

RETURN OF THE PINK LADIES

‘Grease’ Star Revives Iconic ‘Beauty School Dropout’ Role at 74

Didi Conn revealed the surprisingly simple skincare tip she’s followed all this time.

Tamilore OshikanluBreaking News Intern

PublishedJun 23, 2026, 1:00 PM EDT

UpdatedJun 23, 2026, 1:25 PM EDT

Updated Jun 23, 2026, 1:25 PM EDTPublished Jun 23, 2026, 1:00 PM EDT

Comments

Grease’s resident beauty school dropout is finally revealing the real-life beauty advice she’s relied on for decades to maintain her youthful-looking skin.

Didi Conn, best known for playing Frenchy in the 1978 musical classic Grease, revived her iconic role—and the earworm that went with it, “Beauty School Dropout”—for a new partnership with Laura Geller Beauty.

While promoting the campaign in a People interview published Tuesday, the former Pink Lady shared the surprisingly simple skincare rule she’s followed for years.

The 74-year-old actress said she became interested in skincare early in her career, but the advice that stuck with her came from a chance encounter with a fellow performer she spotted before an audition.

”I was in an elevator going to an audition, and it was for a commercial, and standing next to me was someone, an actress that I recognized from so many commercials,” Conn told People. “I had to say, ‘You have the most beautiful skin. What do you do?’ She said, ‘Don’t ever use soap.’ OK. Then she got out of the elevator.”

The exchange lasted only moments, but Conn said she never forgot it.

The actress described the tip as “the most basic thing,” yet it became the foundation of her skincare routine. Instead of using traditional soaps, Conn said she relies on a gentle cleanser and a warm washcloth before moving on to what she considers the most important step.

“Moisturizer, moisturizer,” she said.

While Conn credits her youthful complexion to a remarkably simple routine, her avoidance of traditional soaps aligns with research on the long-term effects of over-cleansing on aging skin.

Keeping skin hydrated becomes increasingly important with age. According to the National Institutes of Health, aging skin gradually loses collagen and elastic fibers, contributing to wrinkles, dryness, and thinning skin. Women can also experience increased dryness during and after menopause due to hormonal changes.

Harsh cleansers can strip away natural oils and disrupt the skin barrier, leading to irritation, dryness, tightness, and sensitivity.

The actress’s beauty confession comes as she partners with Laura Geller Beauty to promote the brand’s new Root Touch-Up product, a dual-ended cream-and-powder formula designed to cover gray roots and fill in sparse brows.

GLOW GET IT

Laura Geller’s New Cream Palette Is a Win for Mature Skin

Shawna Hudson

The campaign playfully revisits Conn’s “Beauty School Dropout” performance more than four decades after Grease became a cultural phenomenon.

“Say you all of a sudden get invited out to dinner and there’s a little of a streak like a skunk,” Conn joked while demonstrating the product. “You don’t want to look skunky.”

Play Video

She added that the touch-up process is nearly effortless.

“All you have to do is dab the cream [in your] part … and it’s gone,” she said.

In a statement announcing the campaign, Conn said she was thrilled to revisit one of her most recognizable roles.

“It was such a fun way to revisit an iconic moment, but with a message that feels age-appropriate over 40 years later,” she said, adding that she appreciates the product’s simplicity when covering stubborn gray roots.

Gray hair is a concern many women begin facing long before retirement age. Women’s health specialist Dr. Kirtly Jones notes that some women start developing gray hair in their twenties or thirties, depending on genetics and other factors.

Laura Geller, the brand’s founder, said in a press release that the product was designed to provide “an easier, more natural-looking solution for gray coverage, thinning hair, and sparse brows” for mature women.

Tamilore OshikanluBreaking News Intern

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast.