A low-budget film with no big-name cast and an unknown director.
However, as soon as Dirty Dancing opened in theaters in August 1987, the cast and crew realized what they had accomplished.
The male lead, Patrick Swayze, experienced immediate success. He rose to fame as a sex icon and teen idol and went on to star in blockbusters like Ghost and Donnie Darko.
But when the film debuted, his co-star Jennifer Grey wasn’t in a good position, and she soon vanished entirely. In the midst of the commotion and festivities, Jennifer Grey vanished just as suddenly as she had appeared.
And the actress went a very, very long time without appearing in the media.
But she has now opened out about the accident that altered her life in an interview with People Magazine.
Let’s first examine Jennifer Grey’s life before to the sad incident in the summer of 1987, though.
From a young age, Jennifer Gray began taking dancing instruction. She was born in New York in 1960, and it was possibly her father that encouraged her to pursue the entertainment business. Joel Gray, her father, was a director, photographer, dancer, singer, and actor.
Jennifer concentrated on theater and dancing while attending Dalton School. After earning her degree in 1978, she started hunting for acting jobs while also enrolling at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater. Her life was not a dance on roses, yet, at the same time. In order to pay the bills, Jennifer was forced to work as a waitress.
In spite of this, she was able to secure a few roles in TV ads, including one for Dr. Pepper. She made her acting debut in the 1984 film “Reckless.” A few years later, she had a huge break with the movie “Dirty Dancing,” in which she played Frances “Baby” Houseman.
The story of this beloved movie was actually inspired by the childhood of author Eleanor Bergstein. Jennifer rose to fame overnight and was nominated for Best Actress at the Golden Globes.
Sadly, she was never able to take advantage of the great success.
Grey and her then-boyfriend Matthew Broderick were living in Ireland just before the movie’s August 1987 premiere.
But Broderick struck another car while driving on the wrong side of the road, resulting in a tragic car disaster for the couple. The other automobile had a woman and her daughter, both of whom died instantaneously.
The accusation of dangerous driving against Broderick was later changed to careless driving. While Jennifer Grey only sustained minor bodily injuries like bruises, her psychological wounds persisted.
Only a few days later, Dirty Dancing had its premiere. But despite the movie’s popularity, Grey was unable to enjoy it.
The contrast of that profound pain, the guilt of the survivor, and then being hailed as the next big thing simply didn’t make sense. According to the Daily Mirror, Grey stated that it didn’t feel nice to be the talk of the town.
The accident-related trauma would prevent the actress from ever fully recovering.
She admitted to People that “my head was never the same, my ambition was never the same.”
Hell’s nose job
She battled survivor’s guilt, went missing for a few years in the early 1990s, and then made an appearance in one episode of Friends in 1995.
She had undergone plastic surgery by that point, and her face was significantly altered.
In 2012, she claimed, “I entered the operating room a celebrity and emerged anonymous.”
“It seemed undetectable or like being in a witness protection program. It was the worst nose job ever. I’ll always be the former famous actress with a nose job that no one recognizes.
After that, Jennifer’s career in Hollywood was intermittent.
Jennifer pushed her way back into the mainstream media by 2010. She regained her status as a devoted fan favorite after winning the TV competition “Dancing with the Stars.” She claimed that was something that was significant to her.
“I feel as though I’ve starved myself out of fear of what others would think of me. This is comparable to enjoying a juicy steak after 23 years of dieting, the celebrity told People.
In 2018, Grey took another step towards the limelight she left. She is set to appear in ‘Untogether’, as well as new comedy ‘Red Oaks’.
We’re so happy you’ve got your passion and joy back, Jennifer!
Now, who else feels like taking a nostalgia-fuelled trip back to 1987? See below the unforgettable scene from Dirty Dancing. What fantastic memories!
