Annette Charles - Wikipedia Annette Charles Annette Charles Annette Cardona ( 1948 - 03 - 05 ) March 5, 1948 Los Angeles, California, U.S. August 3, 2011 ( 2011 - 08 - 03 ) ( aged 63 ) Los Angeles, California, U.S. Occupation Actress Years active 1968 -- 87 Annette Charles ( born Annette Cardona ; March 5, 1948 -- August 3, 2011 ) was an American actress best known for her role as Charlene `` Cha Cha '' DiGregorio in the 1978 feature film Grease. She made several appearances on television as well. Contents 1 Personal life 2 Career 3 Credits 4 References 5 External links Personal life Charles was born Annette Cardona in Los Angeles, California. She died on August 3, 2011, in Los Angeles due to complications from cancer. She had initially been hospitalized for pneumonia. She died of brain cancer 3 months after her Grease co-star Jeff Conaway who died of Pneumonia. 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 became a speech professor at California State University, Northridge. Credits 1987 : Magnum, P.I. ( TV series ) Maria Torres 1985 : Latino Marlena ( as Annette Cardona ) 1981 : Musical Comedy Tonight II ( TV movie ) 1980 : The Incredible Hulk ( TV series ) Rita Montoya 1979 : Can You Hear the Laughter ? The Story of Freddie Prinze ( TV movie ) Billy 1979 : In Search of Historic Jesus ( documentary ) Mary Magdalene 1978 : Centennial ( TV mini-series ) Senora Alvarez 1978 : Grease Cha Cha DiGregorio 1977 : Man from Atlantis ( TV series ) Ginny Mendoza ( as Annette Courset ) 1976 : The Bionic Woman ( TV series ) Elora / Emerald ( 1976 -- 1977 ) 1974 : Barnaby Jones ( TV series ) Angela / Lucy Stahl ( 1974 -- 1977 ) 1972 : Emergency ! ( TV series ) Mrs. Harrow / Wife ( 1972 -- 1974 ) 1972 : Banacek ( TV series ) Cecelia Gomez ( as Annette Cardona ) 1972 : Bonanza ( TV series ) Carmen 1972 : The Mod Squad ( TV series ) Cory ( as Annette Cardona ) 1970 : Gunsmoke ( TV series ) Rita ( as Annette Cardona ) 1970 : The Flying Nun ( TV series ) Louisa ( as Annette Cardona ) 1968 : The High Chaparral ( TV series ) Jill References Jump up ^ Barnes, Mike ( August 4, 2011 ). `` ' Grease ' Actress Annette Charles Dies at 63 ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 5, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Cha Cha from Grease dead at 63 ''. Access Hollywood. August 4, 2011. Archived from the original on August 5, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Annette Cardona ''. RateMyProfessors.com. Archived from the original on August 5, 2011. External links Annette Charles on IMDb `` Grease 's Cha - Cha, Actress Annette Charles, Dies at 63 ''. Us Weekly. August 4, 2011. `` I Love Cha Cha DiGregorio '', Ebola Entertainment via KHitsChicago.Radio.co, August. 5, 2011 ( compilation video of Grease scenes ) VIAF : 127322259 LCCN : no2011133858 This article about an American film and television actor is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Annette_Charles&oldid=801375650 '' Categories : 1948 births 2011 deaths Actresses from Los Angeles American film actresses American television actresses California State University, Northridge faculty Deaths from cancer in California New York University alumni American screen actor stubs Hidden categories : Articles with hCards Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers All stub articles Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Čeština Deutsch فارسی Français Hrvatski Italiano Norsk Polski Português Русский Türkçe اردو Edit links This page was last edited on 19 September 2017, at 08 : 55. About Wikipedia

Question: who played cha cha in the original grease
Answer: Annette Charles (born Annette Cardona