<Tr> <Th> Occupation </Th> <Td> Actress </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Years active </Th> <Td> 1968--87 </Td> </Tr> <P> 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 . </P> <P> 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 . </P>

Who played cha cha in the original grease