If you were curious about Jennifer Grey’s life following “Dirty Dancing,” here is her tale. Movies may either be forgotten or they can become instant classics that draw in millions of viewers.
The latter description fits Dirty Dancing well. Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman and dancing instructor Johnny Castle’s love story prompted the sale of over a million VHS tapes.
The film’s original song, “I’ve Had the Time of My Life,” was nominated for and won many accolades, including an Oscar and a Golden Globe.
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The film was a breakthrough for stars Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze. They were catapulted into the centre of attention overnight.
Sadly, Grey was unable to bask in the glow of her massive success and the adoration of her legions of followers because of a terrible tragedy that occurred before the film’s release.
Grey discusses her stardom and her choice to turn her back on Hollywood when she was 27 years old, several years after Dirty Dancing was released and became one of the top films of the decade.
Grey and her then-boyfriend Matthew Broderick were residents in Ireland in 1987, the year the film debuted.
A woman and her little daughter were killed in an automobile accident in which they were both passengers.
The family in the other car was reportedly killed when Broderick, travelling on the wrong side of the roadway, collided with them.
His original allegation of reckless driving was lowered to one of carelessness. Even though Grey didn’t sustain any major physical!njuries, she was changed forever. She was profoundly affected by the incident and struggled to go on.
The young actor told the Daily Mirror, “The juxtaposition of that deep sorrow, the survivor’s guilt, and then being celebrated as the new big thing just didn’t jibe.” Being the talk of the town didn’t make you feel great.
She reflected on how her experience had changed her: “My head was never the same, my ambition was never the same,” she told People.
Grey, who was suffering from survivor’s guilt, decided to do something nice for herself by getting a nose job. Unfortunately, the transformation did not go as intended, and instead of helping Grey feel better about her appearance, it made her face seem completely different.
She said in 2012, “I went in a celebrity and came out anonymous” while describing her experience in the surgery room.It felt like I was in hiding or invisibility cloak.
A devil of a nose job that was. I’ll always be that actress who had a nose operation and now no one recognises her.
Around the turn of the century, Grey had the hankering to work in films once again. The victory on “Dancing with the Stars” allowed her to put the past in the past. She finally felt like herself thanks to the programme.
It’s as if I avoided eating altogether for fear of what others may think of me. After being on a diet for 23 years, Grey compared this to eating a wonderful steak.
These days, you may see her in films like “I Am Patrick Swayze,” “Bittersweet Symphony,” “Untogether,” and “Red Oaks.”
Without that tragic catastrophe, we have little doubt that Jennifer Grey’s professional path would look quite different today.
But we’re glad she’s back in Hollywood, where she belongs. Watch this clip from Dirty Dancing if you want to relive a classic moment.