Jennifer Grey Admits She ‘Banished’ Herself From Hollywood Following Several Hardships

May 27, 2022 by apost team

"Dirty Dancing" was one of the biggest surprise film hits of the 1980s and it catapulted its two stars — Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey — into the limelight. But while Swayze went on to have an illustrious career after, Grey receded from the spotlight. The film's incredible success was unexpected, which made their instant fame trickier to navigate. Regardless, the movie lives on as one of Hollywood's standout hits from the 1980s and continues to be a fan favorite. 

However, Grey left the spotlight in the decade following the film's release. She did not open up about why that was the case until much later. More than three decades after "Dirty Dancing" came out, Grey opened up about a tragic car accident that changed the course of her life. She took the time she needed to heal and find her passion for acting again, and she did eventually get back out in the spotlight.

However, after she began to act again, Grey didn't have the response she expected. Known for her distinct nose, the actress succumbed to pressure to undergo plastic surgery a handful of times and in the process, came out barely resembling her old self. This meant that when she acted in new projects, fans couldn't even recognize her.

With so much weight on her shoulders, Grey grew more and more insecure. It seemed like no matter what she did, it wasn’t enough. She was seemingly "banished" from Hollywood following all of this, but Grey has since said that it was her own doing.

Grey was on a fast-track lane to fame and a Hollywood career following “Dirty Dancing.” There may have been high hopes for her, but the series of unfortunate events she went through compounded and ultimately damaged her chances of a massive Hollywood career.  

Grey had two rhinoplasties altogether — the second to correct problems from the first — and they rendered her unrecognizable. She underwent rhinoplasty just before she appeared on the hit show "Friends" in 1995. Since people couldn't recognize her from her 1980s roles, she had no luck landing other major parts. She even considered changing her name to start her career anew but decided against it.

Speaking of the botched surgeries, in 2012 she said, “I went in the operating theater a celebrity and came out anonymous.” She added:

“It was the nose job from hell. I’ll always be this once-famous actress nobody ­recognizes because of a nose job.”

It turned out that Grey had succumbed to the pressures of society – and her mother. Speaking with PEOPLE, she explained how the rhinoplasty had been her mother’s idea. Grey’s mother worried that her look would leave her on the outskirts of Hollywood and never allow her to be cast in anything. “You’re just trying to fit into whatever is the groupthink,” Grey said.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the only setback she encountered that pushed her away from the spotlight. On Aug. 5, 1987 — the same month "Dirty Dancing" was released — Grey was vacationing in Ireland with her then-boyfriend, Matthew Broderick. In a horrible turn of events, Broderick had been driving their rental car on the wrong side of the road, when they collided head-on with another vehicle. The mother and daughter in the other car were instantly killed.

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Broderick was charged with dangerous driving but was eventually convicted of a lesser sentence, careless driving, and paid a small fine. Broderick had also fractured his leg and ribs while Grey walked away with minor injuries and survivor’s guilt. In an interview with Irish Central, Grey discussed her newfound fame and how it conflicted with the guilt of what she'd been through:

"I became America's sweetheart within five days of the accident. The juxtaposition of that deep sorrow, the survivor's guilt, and then being celebrated as the new big thing just didn't jibe. It didn't feel good to be the toast of the town." 

Despite all of this, Grey says that getting "banished" from Hollywood was because of her own doing. According to PEOPLE, Grey’s memoir “Out of the Corner” addressed everything from her childhood lessons about beauty and work ethic to her skyrocketing fame and being shunned from Hollywood. While many people assumed Grey was kicked out due to being unrecognizable, the actress has admitted that it was her own insecurities that stood in the way. She said:

“I spent so much energy trying to figure out what I did wrong, why I was banished from the kingdom. That’s a lie. I banished myself.”

Speaking with PEOPLE, Grey said that she now strives to reclaim her space in Hollywood. She even referenced the now-iconic line from "Dirty Dancing," in which Swayze's character said, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner," when she told the publication:

“That’s a new feeling. To take myself out of the corner – and to recognize that I have been putting myself there, through story, through narratives that weren't giving me the best life. The story I was telling myself about how I got here was not a great story. And not entirely true. I hadn’t seen the ways in which I’d made choices.”  

What do you think about Jennifer Grey’s life and career? Did you know about all of the hardships she encountered? Let us know, and be sure to send this to your loved ones.