Jennifer Grey, who played ‘Baby’ in the classic film Dirty Dancing, was expected to enjoy a significant increase in her work chances.

But that was not to be. Instead, a horrific occurrence profoundly altered everything and forced her to leave the film industry for good.

Jennifer Grey has spoken up about the awful time that left her severely traumatized after many years of silence.

However, the cast and crew recognized what they had done as soon as Dirty Dancing hit theaters in August 1987.

Patrick Swayze, the male protagonist, was an instant success. He rose to prominence as a sex icon and adolescent idol before appearing in blockbusters such as Ghost and Donnie Darko.

However, when the picture was released, his co-star Jennifer Grey was not in a favorable position, and she quickly vanished. Jennifer Grey vanished as quickly as she appeared in the thick of the bustle and festivities.

And the actress went a long time without appearing in the media.

In an interview, she spoke about the accident that changed her life.

But first, let’s look at Jennifer Grey’s life before the tragic incident in the summer of 1987.

Jennifer Gray began taking dance instruction at a young age. She was born in New York in 1960, and it is possible that her father urged her to seek a career in the entertainment industry. Her father, Joel Gray, was a filmmaker, photographer, dancer, singer, and actor.

Jennifer focused her studies at Dalton School on acting and dancing. She began looking for acting employment after receiving her degree in 1978 while also enrolling at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater. Her life was far from a rose-colored spectacle but also full of surprises. Jennifer was obliged to work as a waitress to pay her debts.

Despite this, she was able to land a few appearances in TV commercials, including one for Dr. Pepper. In the 1984 film “Reckless,” she made her acting debut. A few years later, she made a big break with the film “Dirty Dancing,” in which she played Frances “Baby” Houseman.

Author Eleanor Bergstein’s background inspired the story of this acclaimed film. Jennifer became famous overnight and received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress.

Unfortunately, she was never able to capitalize on her enormous achievement.

Grey and her then-boyfriend Matthew Broderick were in Ireland just before the film’s release in August 1987.

However, Broderick collided with another vehicle while driving on the wrong side of the road, culminating in a tragic automobile accident for the pair. The second vehicle was carrying a mom and her daughter, who died instantly.

Broderick’s charge of dangerous driving was subsequently reduced to careless driving. Jennifer Grey’s physical injuries were minimal, such as bruises, but her psychological traumas lasted.

Dirty Dancing premiered only a few days later. Despite the film’s popularity, Grey was unable to enjoy it.

The juxtaposition of tremendous anguish, survivor guilt, and being praised as the next great thing simply didn’t make sense. Grey claimed that being the talk of the town did not feel good.

The actress will never fully recover from the stress of the accident.

“My thinking was never the same; my desire was never the same,” she said.

She struggled with survivor’s guilt, went AWOL for a few years in the early 1990s, and then appeared in a Friends episode in 1995.

She’d had plastic surgery at the time, drastically altering her face.

“I entered the operating room a star and left unknown,” she stated in 2012.

“It seemed like I was in a witness protection program or something. It was the worst nose job in history. “I’ll always be the former renowned actress with the nose job that no one knows about.”

Jennifer’s subsequent Hollywood career was sporadic.

By 2010, Jennifer had made her way back into the mainstream spotlight. After winning “Dancing with the Stars,” she recovered her status as a loyal fan favorite. That, she stated, was significant to her.

“It’s like eating a great steak after being on a diet for 23 years,” the celebrity explained.

Grey returned to the spotlight once more in 2018. She will appear in ‘Untogether’ and the upcoming comedy ‘Red Oaks.’

Jennifer, we are overjoyed that you have rediscovered your zest for life!

Who else wants to go back in time to 1987 and feel nostalgic? View the legendary Dirty Dancing sequence below. Such lovely memories!

Please share this article with your Facebook friends. They, like me, saw Dirty Dancing and wondered what happened to the lovely Jennifer Grey.