Stella Luchetta was Ellen Corby’s partner who was in a relationship with the late American actress and screenwriter for nearly five decades. That relationship lasted until the actress’ demise in 1999.
Stella’s late partner appeared in more than 70 movies and TV series in her lifetime, and she rightly earned credits for a host of those productions, while a handful of others were uncredited. She was, however, best known for her role as Esther “Grandma” Walton on the CBS television series The Waltons, a role that earned her three Emmy Awards.
For years, the media reported that Stella and Ellen were just friends, even though later reports suggested that they may have been partners because of how long they lived together. Read on to learn more about Stella Luchetta and what she has been up to since Ellen’s death more than two decades ago.
Summary of Stella Luchetta’s Bio
- Full name: Stella Luchetta
- Gender: Female
- Place of birth: United States of America
- Ethnicity: Caucasian
- Nationality: American
- Sexual Orientation: Gay
- Marital Status: Partnered
- Stella Luchetta’s Partner: Ellen Hansen Corby (deceased)
- Famous for: Being Ellen Corby’s Partner
Stella Luchetta Has No Public Profile
The consensus is that the most information anyone has on Stella Luchetta is that she is an American citizen who was most likely born and raised in the United States. Other than that, she has very little public profile that would have helped decipher when she was born and how old she is.
While several sources have indicated that she is white (or Caucasian), there is no information about members of her birth family, including her parents or any siblings she might have had. With regard to her formal educational background, Stella Luchetta always came across as sufficiently educated, even though the finer details have yet to be ascertained.
Stella Luchetta’s Former Partner, Ellen Corby, was a Reknown Actress
We have no way of determining what Stella Luchetta did for a living. This is simply because the lack of information on Stella Luchetta further extends to her occupation, a reality that makes it difficult to gauge the level of success she achieved while doing so.
In stark contrast to that fact, Stella’s now-deceased partner Ellen Corby was a successful actress and screenwriter who showcased her acting and screenwriting abilities on the Hollywood stage for the best part of six decades.
Born Ellen Hansen in Racine, Wisconsin, United States, on June 3, 1911, Ellen officially started her career in 1933. Several sources report that she was mainly cast in uncredited roles during the early stages of her career until the mid-1940s.
Her first credited acting role came in RKO’s Cornered in 1945. Just three years later, in 1948, her role as Aunt Trina in I Remember Mama earned her an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.
Her career essentially took off from that point, and over the next four decades, she portrayed diverse roles in film and TV productions, including roles as a maid, secretary, waitress, or gossip, and had a recurring role as Henrietta Porter, a newspaper publisher, in Trackdown.
Arguably her best-known role was when she was cast as Grandma Esther Walton on the made-for-TV film The Homecoming: A Christmas Story in 1971. The production was the launch pad for the pilot of The Waltons in 1972.
She continued to portray the role on the CBS show until the end of the 1978-79 season when she became sick. Her health challenges meant that her role was reduced during The Waltons’ final two seasons. Thankfully she returned as Grandma Walton in five of the six Waltons reunion movies between 1982 and 1997.
Stella Luchetta Was Ellen Corby’s Partner For Nearly Five Decades
Suffice it to say that Stella Luchetta caught the eye of the media and the general public when she struck up a relationship with the late actress Ellen Corby. The relationship, described as “friendship” in the media for most of the time, started in 1954 and only ended when the actress died in 1999.
Simply put, the relationship lasted for 45 years, essentially nearly five decades. As previously stated, the media continuously reported that Stella and Ellen were friends but changed their tune after a while because Stella and the late actress lived together for a long time.
Neither of them confirmed or denied the rumors about them being in a romantic relationship, and the entire affair was made even more confusing because Ellen had been married to a man for about a decade.
The man she was married to was Francis Corby, a film director/cinematographer who was 20 years older than she was. They got married in 1934 but ended up going their separate ways when the marriage ended in divorce in 1944. They did not have any children together, and that aspect of Ellen’s life never changed.
On the flip side, we have yet to come across information suggesting that Stella Luchetta was married or even in a romantic relationship prior to meeting and starting a relationship with the late actress.
Where Is Stella Luchetta Now?
Stella’s partner Ellen suffered a stroke in November 1976, a reality that the showrunners of The Waltons found a way to work into the series when they also made Grandma Walton suffer a stroke.
She recovered and returned to her role in March 1978, and afterward continued to act until 1997 when she appeared in A Walton Easter. On April 14, 1999, Ellen Corby said goodbye to this world at 87.
According to several sources, she died at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. Her memorial site is in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California.
In a true testament to their close bond, Stella Luchetta stayed by Ellen Corby’s side until the actress’ demise in April 1999. However, very little has been heard or said about the former celebrity partner since she lost her partner over two decades ago.
In all likelihood, she may also have joined her partner in the afterlife, even though there is no strong evidence to support that assessment. She essentially dropped off the grid following Corby’s death.
