Jennifer Grey Speaks Candidly About Her Hollywood Career, Heartbreaks, and a “Dirty Dancing” Sequel

She won our hearts as Baby in the hit movie Dirty Dancing and then seemingly disappeared from the silver screen, leaving fans to wonder. Now, 35 years after the movie premiere, Jennifer Grey looks back on her experience with stardom, her life choices, and her private life. In the spirit of celebrating the actress’s 63rd birthday this month, we’re not just taking a trip down memory lane, but we’re bringing you the details about what Jennifer has been up to lately.

Fame came unexpectedly.

Jennifer admits she grew up knowing she was the ’’luckiest girl alive.’’ With both of her parents being accomplished actors, she knew ins and outs of the entertainment industry from an early age. Although she starred in several movies before Dirty Dancing, this 1987 megahit changed everything for her. Grey became an international superstar basically in an instant.

She still tears up when watching Dirty Dancing.

Her collaboration with her on-screen love interest Johnny, played by Patrick Swayze, had an awkward start. At first, Jennifer didn’t think he was the right choice for the part, and they had a couple of disagreements on set, but now she treasures the whole experience: ’’There was no chemistry between us, but there was energy,’’ she explains.

After Swayze passed away in 2009, she expressed her regret that she didn’t appreciate him more for who he was. Jennifer admitted that she didn’t fully trust the late actor in the beginning, but later she changed her mind.

Looking back, she fondly remembers Patrick, saying: ’’I wish I could tell him more than “I’m sorry.” She also admits that watching the legendary movie still makes her emotional: “It gets me every time,” she says.

She second-guessed some of her life choices.

In an effort to boost her career, Jennifer took her mom’s advice and had nose surgery. However, things didn’t go as expected. In her 2022 biography titled Out of the Corner, Grey recalls that it caused her to “lose her identity and her career overnight.”

“In the world’s eyes, I was no longer me,” the star adds. But after years of questioning her choices and her appearance, Jennifer admits that now she finally feels good in her own skin.

She’s enjoyed quite a few whirlwind romances in her life.

Jennifer has had her fair share of notable romances, including relationships with fellow actors William Baldwin, Mathew Broderick, and Johnny Depp. The actress was even engaged to Johnny Depp, and she regarded their relationship as a blessing at the time.

Although the couple seemed to be very much in love, they parted ways after about 9 months of being together. Grey later married actor Clark Gregg with whom she has a daughter, Stella. After 19 years of marriage, Gregg and Grey split in 2020.

Jennifer is keeping busy.

Living in obscurity for quite a few years was a reality for Grey until recently, but that’s no longer the case. She starred in a couple of TV shows and movies over the past few years, including Grey’s Anatomy, The Conners, Dancing with the Stars, and the movie Starving for Salvation.

Jennifer has also officially been confirmed for the Dirty Dancing sequel: ’’There will be dancing. There will be a lot of music and romance,’’ she teases, and we can’t wait for the release date.

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