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JENNIFER GREY

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the Irish cricketer, see Jennifer Gray (cricketer). For the British actress, see Jennifer Gray (actress).

Jennifer Grey
Grey at the 2024 New York Film Festival
BornMarch 26, 1960 (age 66)
New York City, New York, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1979–present
SpouseClark Gregg​​(m. 2001; div. 2021)​
Children1
ParentsJoel Grey (father)Jo Wilder (mother)
RelativesMickey Katz (grandfather)Ronald A. Katz (uncle)

Jennifer Grey (born March 26, 1960) is an American actress. She made her acting debut with the film Reckless (1984), and had her breakthrough with the teen comedy film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986). She earned worldwide fame starring as Frances “Baby” Houseman in the romantic drama film Dirty Dancing (1987), which earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination. Her other feature films include Red Dawn (1984), The Cotton Club (1984), Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989), Bounce (2000), Redbelt (2008), The Wind Rises (2013), In Your Eyes (2014), Bittersweet Symphony (2019), and A Real Pain (2024).

Grey’s early television work includes the made-for-TV films Murder in Mississippi (1990), Criminal Justice (1990), and If the Shoe Fits as Kelly Carter / Prudence (1990). She starred as herself in the series It’s Like, You Know… (1999–2001), won season eleven of the dancing competition series Dancing with the Stars (2010) and starred as Judy Meyers in the Amazon Prime Video comedy Red Oaks (2014–2017). Her voice work in film and television includes the 2018 film Duck Duck Goose and the 2008–2014 animated television series Phineas and Ferb.[1][2]

Early life

Jennifer Grey[a] was born on March 26, 1960, in New York City to former actress/singer Jo Wilder (née Brower) and stage and Academy Award-winning screen actor Joel Grey.[3][4] Her paternal grandfather was comedian and musician Mickey Katz. Grey’s parents both came from Jewish families.[5][6][7][8]

Grey attended the Dalton School, a private school in Manhattan[9] where she studied dance and acting, and where she met her best friend, actress Tracy Pollan.[10] After graduating in 1978, Grey enrolled at Manhattan’s Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre for two years of training as an actress. While waiting for roles, she supported herself waitressing.[11][12]

Career

Early career

Grey made her commercial debut at age 19 in an ad for Dr Pepper, then made her film debut in a small role in Reckless (1984), followed by another small role, in Francis Ford Coppola‘s The Cotton Club in 1984. That year she starred in the war film Red Dawn, then went on to the 1985 John Badham project American Flyers.

Grey with William Baldwin at the 1988 Academy Awards

Breakthrough and commercial success

In 1986 she played the role of jealous sister Jeannie Bueller in the John Hughes comedy film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, opposite Matthew Broderick. The film was commercially successful[13] and received a positive critical reception.[14]

The following year she reunited with Patrick Swayze, her Red Dawn co-star, to play Frances “Baby” Houseman in Dirty Dancing, a coming-of-age love story: spending the summer at a Catskills resort with her family, Frances “Baby” Houseman falls in love with the resort’s dance instructor, Johnny Castle. The low-budget film was a surprise hit, and the first film to sell one million copies on video,[15] and is considered a classic.[16] She was paid $50,000[17] for her role, which came to define her career, and she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress for the role.[18]

Grey’s sole Broadway theatre credit is her 1993 appearance in The Twilight of the Golds.

Despite the success of Dirty Dancing, Grey felt that her looks would place restrictions on the type of future roles she would be considered for.[17] After consulting her mother and three plastic surgeons in the early 1990s, she underwent two rhinoplasty procedures. The second was necessary to correct an irregularity caused by the first operation and ended up being more extensive than Grey had expected.[17][19] This resulted in a nose that caused even close friends to fail to recognize her, and the major change in her appearance affected her career.[20] Of the experience, she said, “I went in the operating room a celebrity—and came out anonymous. It was like being in a witness protection program or being invisible.”[21][22] Grey recalled in a 2020 interview that an airline employee who checked her identity refused to believe that she and the actress the employee knew from Dirty Dancing were one and the same.[17] Grey briefly considered changing her name to start her career anew, but ultimately decided against this.[23]

Later career

From March 1999 until January 2000, Grey starred as herself in the short-lived ABC sitcom It’s Like, You Know…, which satirized her much-publicized nose job as a running gag.[24]

Grey appeared with Shirley MacLaine, Liza Minnelli, and Kathy Bates in the CBS television movie The West Side Waltz, adapted by Ernest Thompson from his play. She appeared in one episode of Friends as Mindy, a high school friend of Jennifer Aniston‘s character Rachel. She had a small role in the 2000 film Bounce with Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck. In 2007, Grey portrayed Daphne on the HBO series John from Cincinnati. In 2010, she played Abbey, the mother of a sick child in the season seven House episode “Unplanned Parenthood“.[25]

Grey was a contestant on season eleven of Dancing With the Stars. She was partnered with professional dancer Derek Hough.[26] She came out very strong at first, frequently topping the leaderboard. However, injuries, stress, and exhaustion took their toll on Grey, and for a couple of weeks, she fell behind. In week seven, however, she improved, tying with previous frontrunner Brandy Norwood. On November 23, 2010, Grey and her partner Hough won the competition, making her the oldest female winner in the competition.[27][28]

In September 2011 Grey appeared in the Lifetime movie Bling Ring as Iris Garvey, the mother of Zack Garvey.[29] On November 5 and 6, 2011, Grey stood in for head judge Len Goodman on the BBC One TV show Strictly Come Dancing.[30]

Grey voiced Mrs. Kurokawa in the English dub version of Hayao Miyazaki‘s film The Wind Rises.[31]

From 2014 to 2017, Grey portrayed Judy Meyers on Red Oaks.[32] In 2018, Grey co-starred in the film Untogether; the film was released on February 8, 2019.[33]

Grey also appeared at the 2015 Tony Awards alongside her father Joel, presenting a performance from the musical Fun Home.

Ballantine Books published Grey’s memoir, Out of the Corner, on May 3, 2022.[17]

Personal life

Grey with her then-husband, actor Clark Gregg (far left) at the November 30, 2010, Epic Mickey launch party

On August 5, 1987, Grey suffered severe whiplash in a car collision in Tempo, Northern Ireland, while vacationing with actor Matthew Broderick. They had quietly become a couple while filming Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The crash– which publicized their relationship– occurred when Broderick, driving a BMW, crossed into the wrong lane and collided head-on with a Volvo driven by a mother and daughter: Margaret Doherty, 63, and Anna Gallagher, 28. The mother and daughter were killed instantly. Broderick was convicted of careless driving and fined £100 ($175).[11][34] Dirty Dancing was released a few weeks after the collision, catapulting Grey to fame. But she has said that her grief and survivor’s guilt over the crash prevented her from enjoying the film’s success and led her to withdraw from acting for some time.[35]

Grey has had relationships with actors Michael J. Fox, Johnny Depp, and William Baldwin, and then-aide to President Clinton, George Stephanopoulos.[36] She married actor/director Clark Gregg on July 21, 2001. They have a daughter.[37] They lived in Venice, Los Angeles.[38] The couple co-starred in the Lifetime movie The Road to Christmas in 2006. On July 3, 2020, Grey and Gregg announced they had separated amicably in January, and had filed for divorce.[39] Their divorce was finalized on February 16, 2021.[40]

According to a September 2015 Grey profile in Jewish Journal, Grey had recently reconnected with Judaism, saying, “I love being a Jew. I’ve gotten a lot more Jewish in the last five years because of my daughter’s bat mitzvah, and I realized I really care about being a Jew.”[41]

Prior to her 2010 appearances on Dancing with the Stars, Grey had a physical exam to ensure that she was fit enough to compete. She also saw a doctor to address chronic neck problems caused by the car crash.[42] Her spinal cord was compressed and required ACDF surgery. The surgeon discovered a cancerous nodule on her thyroid and removed it.[43] She returned to work in early 2010.[44]

In January 2017, Grey participated in the Los Angeles 2017 Women’s March.[45]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1984RecklessCathy Bennario
Red DawnToni Mason
The Cotton ClubPatsy Dwyer
1985American FlyersLeslie
1986Ferris Bueller’s Day OffJeanie Bueller
1987Dirty DancingFrances “Baby” Houseman
1988GandaharAirelle (voice)English dub
1989Bloodhounds of BroadwayLovey Lou
1992WindKate Bass
1995Lover’s KnotMegan Forrester
Grampa’s BabiesDottie Kravetz
1997Red MeatCandice
2000BounceJanice Guerrero
2002RitualDr. Alice Dodgson
2008RedbeltLucy Weiss
KeithCaroline
2013The Wind RisesMrs. Kurokawa (voice)English dub
2014In Your EyesDiane
2018Duck Duck GooseEdna (voice)
UntogetherJosie
2019Bittersweet SymphonyEleanor Roberts
2021Grief Night ClubDr. JShort film
2023Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage MatchHerself / Sareena (voice)Video[46]
2024A Real PainMarcia
2025Wish You Were HereMom

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1984ABC Afterschool SpecialCarol SchwartzEpisode: “The Great Love Experiment”
1985ABC Afterschool SpecialLaura EllerEpisode: “Cindy Eller: A Modern Fairy Tale”
1986The EqualizerValerie JacobsEpisode: “A Community of Civilized Men“
1990Murder in MississippiRita SchwernerTV movie
Criminal JusticeLiz CarterTV movie
If the Shoe FitsKelly Carter / PrudenceTV movie
1991Eyes of a WitnessChristine BaxterTV movie
1993A Case for MurderKate WeldonTV movie
1995FriendsMindyEpisode: “The One with the Evil Orthodontist”
Fallen AngelsGinger AllenEpisode: “A Dime a Dance”
The West Side WaltzRobin OuiseauTV movie
1996Portraits of a KillerElaine TaylorTV movie
1997The PlayerStephanie GranatelliTV movie
1998OutrageSally CaseyTV movie
Since You’ve Been GonePatty ReedTV movie
1999–2000It’s Like, You Know…Herself26 episodes
2006The Road to ChristmasClaire JamiesonTV movie
2007John from CincinnatiDaphne, Meyer’s Fiancée3 episodes
2008–2014Phineas and FerbVarious voices8 episodes
2009The New Adventures of Old ChristineTraceyEpisode: “Love Means Never Having to Say You’re Crazy”
2010HouseAbbeyEpisode: “Unplanned Parenthood“
Dancing with the StarsHerself / ContestantSeason 11 Winner
2011The Bling RingIris GarveyTV movie
Strictly Come DancingHerself / Guest JudgeSeries 9, Week 6
2014–2017Red OaksJudy Meyers / Judy Rosen21 episodes
2016Lip Sync BattleHerselfEpisode: “Clark Gregg vs. Hayley Atwell“
2017Who Do You Think You Are?HerselfEpisode: “Jennifer Grey”
2019Grey’s AnatomyCarol Dickinson3 episodes
2020The ConnersJanelle2 episodes
2022DollfaceSharon WileyEpisode: “Homecoming Queen”
2023Gwen Shamblin: Starving for SalvationGwen ShamblinTV movie[47][48]
2024American Dad!Herself (voice)Episode: “An Adult Woman”

Dancing with the Stars performances

Week #Dance / SongJudges’ scoreResult
InabaGoodmanTonioli
1Viennese Waltz / “These Arms of Mine“788Safe
2Jive / “Shake It“888Safe
3Samba / “A Little Respect“888Safe
4Argentine Tango / “La Cumparsita“9
10		9
9		9
10		Safe
5Foxtrot / “Love and Marriage“889Safe
6Paso Doble / “So What“
Rock ‘n’ Roll Dance Marathon / “La Grange“		7
Awarded		7
9		7
points		Last to be called safe
7Tango / “Shut Up“
Team Cha-cha-cha / “Bust A Move“		9
9		9
9		9
9		Safe
8Quickstep / “Let’s Face the Music and Dance“
Rumba / “Waiting for a Girl Like You“		9
10		9
10		9
10		Safe
9
Semi-finals		Cha-cha-cha / “Mercy“
Waltz / “Way Over Yonder”		10
10		10
10		10
10		Safe
10
Finals		Paso Doble / “Habanera“
Freestyle / “Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance)“
Viennese Waltz / “These Arms of Mine“
Instant Cha-cha-cha / “Raise Your Glass“		10
10
10
9		10
10
10
9		10
10
10
10		Won

Book

  • Grey, Jennifer (May 3, 2022). Out of the Corner: A Memoir. Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0-593-35670-8.

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResult
1988Golden Globe AwardBest Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or MusicalDirty DancingNominated

Notes

^ a: Contrary to previous versions of this article, and some of the sources cited in it, Grey indicated in a February 8, 2012, tweet on her verified Twitter account that she does not have a middle name.

References

  1.  Miller, Victoria (March 29, 2021). “Here’s What Jennifer Grey Has Been Up To Since Dirty Dancing”. Looper. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  2.  “Jennifer Grey”. Behind the Voice Actors. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  3.  “Jennifer Grey Biography – Facts, Birthday, Life Story”. Biography. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
  4.  “Jennifer Grey: Biography”. TV Guide. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  5.  Katz, Mickey. Papa, Play for Me: The Autobiography of Mickey Katz. Wesleyan. 2002. p. 154. Google Books. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  6.  “Joel Grey’s famous family line”. Los Angeles Times. January 17, 2011.
  7.  “KATZ, MEYER MYRON – The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History”. Case Western Reserve University. July 17, 1997.
  8.  “Joel Grey Biography (1932–)”. Film Reference. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  9.  Porter, Rick (October 12, 2010). “‘Dancing With the Stars’: Jennifer Grey rules again” Archived December 19, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Zap2it.
  10.  “Tracy Pollan: Actress” Archived May 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. People. Vol. 53. No. 18. May 8, 2000. Page 128.
  11.  Hutchings, David (September 14, 1987). “Jennifer Grey (Joel’s Baby and Matthew Broderick’s Lady) Turns Up the Heat in Dirty Dancing” Archived November 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.People. Vol. 28. No. 11. September 14, 1987.
  12.  “Jennifer Grey Profile”. SuperiorPics. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  13.  “Ferris Buellers’s Day Off”, Box Office Mojo; “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – Bueller Bueller Edition“, archived from the original on February 9, 2006; Briscoe, Jake (January 9, 2017). “What Happened to Matthew Broderick”. The Gazette Review. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  14.  “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”. Rotten Tomatoes.
  15.  Salvatore, Rosanne (October 10, 2011). “‘Dirty Dancing’: Where Are They Now?” Archived September 5, 2018, at the Wayback Machine. Daily News.
  16.  Serjeant, Jill (August 9, 2011). “Classic “Dirty Dancing” film to get Hollywood remake”. Reuters.
  17.  Egan, Elisabeth (April 18, 2022). “Don’t Call Her ‘Baby.’ At 62, Jennifer Grey is Taking the Lead”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  18.  Ward, Rachel (November 5, 2011). “Jennifer Grey: where has she been?”. The Daily Telegraph.
  19.  Bryant, Tom (August 23, 2012). “Still having the time of my life 25 years on: Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Grey on Patrick Swayze, dancing and her “nose job from hell””. Mirror UK.
  20.  Lavender, Jane; Knox, Susan (July 17, 2020). “Jennifer Grey’s harrowing crash tragedy and nose job that changed her life”. Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  21.  “Dirty Dancing – Dirty Dancer Grey’s Nightmare Nose Job”. Contactmusic. October 29, 2006 Archived February 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  22.  Byrne, Bridget (March 21, 1999). “New Sitcom, New Nose, Same Old Jennifer Grey”. The Washington Post.
  23.  Hamilton, Kendall (March 22, 1999). “It’s Like, Uh … Jennifer Grey”. Newsweek. pp. 73–74.
  24.  Huff, Richard (March 28, 1999). “Like, You Know… L.a. Has A Funny Bone, Too”. Daily News.
  25.  DiNunno, Gina (July 29, 2010). “Jennifer Grey to Guest-Star on House”. TV Guide. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  26.  “Dancing With the Stars Sources Confirm Margaret Cho and Jennifer Grey — Guess Which One Gets Derek Hough”. eonline.com. August 27, 2010.
  27.  “Jennifer Grey wins Dancing With The Stars”. BBC News. November 24, 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  28.  Billboard Staff (November 24, 2010). “Jennifer Grey Wins ‘Dancing With the Stars'”. Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  29.  Cooper, Jackie K. (September 19, 2011) “The Bling Ring Marks the Return of Jennifer Grey”. The Huffington Post.
  30.  “Jennifer Grey joins the judges”. BBC Blog.
  31.  Truitt, Brian (December 16, 2013). “Gordon-Levitt, Blunt head up ‘The Wind Rises’ U.S. cast”. USA Today.
  32.  McElroy, Steven (November 4, 2016). “Jennifer Grey Is Having the Time of Her Life”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  33.  N’Duka, Amanda (December 3, 2018). “Jamie Dornan, Jemima Kirke, Ben Mendelsohn Drama ‘Untogether’ Lands At Freestyle Digital”. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  34.  Hoffmann, Bill (September 2, 2002). “Broderick’s Guilt”. New York Post. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011.
  35.  Isola, Laurie (September 22, 2010). “Jennifer Grey never recovered from Matthew Broderick car crash”. San Francisco Chronicle.
  36.  Sheridan, Peter (September 25, 2010). “What became of Patrick’s Dirty Dancing partner?”. The Express. Scotland. pp. 36–37.
  37.  “Briefly”. USA Today. December 6, 2001, p. LIFE, 5D
  38.  Tutelian, Louise (May 23, 2008). “Putting Out a ‘Willkommen’ Mat”. The New York Times. “Escapes”, Page 1. Mr. Grey’s granddaughter Stella, age 6, lives nearby [Pacific Palisades] with her parents, Jennifer Grey and her husband, the actor Clark Gregg.
  39.  Merrett, Robyn (July 3, 2020). “Clark Gregg and Jennifer Grey Split After 19 Years Together: ‘We Remain Close'”. People. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  40.  Fernandez, Alexia (November 18, 2020). “Jennifer Grey Retains Dirty Dancing Earnings in Divorce Settlement with Ex Clark Gregg”. People. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  41.  Miller, Gerri (September 8, 2015). “Where Jewish stars are shining this season”. The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Archived from the original on April 5, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  42.  “Matthew Broderick – Matthew Broderick Car Crash Family Reach Out”. contactmusic.com. May 21, 2003.
  43.  “Celebrities with Thyroid Problems | www.ShifrinMD.com”. www.shifrinmd.com. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  44.  “Jennifer Grey: ‘Baby’ Makes a Comeback: The former “Dirty Dancing” star opens up about her struggle with cancer”. Good Morning America. April 4, 2010. Archived from the original on October 7, 2010.
  45.  “Celebrities attend Women’s Marches around the world”. CBS. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  46.  Vejvoda, Jim (June 14, 2023). “Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match Exclusive: Full Voice Cast and Plot Revealed”. IGN.
  47.  “Jennifer Grey says her ‘outrageous’ look as Gwen Shamblin Lara is meant to send a message”. www.today.com.
  48.  “Jennifer Grey To Play Cult-Like Figure Gwen Shamblin In Lifetime Movie”. deadline.com.

External links

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Awards and achievements
Preceded byNicole Scherzinger & Derek HoughDancing with the Stars (US) winners
Season 11
(Fall 2010 with Derek Hough)		Succeeded byHines Ward and Kym Herjavec
vteDancing with the Stars (American TV series)
Authority control databases 

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