Dirty dancing star Jennifer Grey opens up about the accident that changed her life and forced her to turn her back on Hollywood
Jennifer Grey: The Tragedy Behind Her Rise to Fame. Dirty Dancing became a timeless classic, launching Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze into stardom. Its iconic song “I’ve Had The Time of My Life” won major awards, and Grey suddenly found herself in the spotlight. But just before the movie’s release in 1987, a tragic event changed everything.
While living in Ireland with boyfriend Matthew Broderick, the two were involved in a car crash that killed a mother and daughter. Broderick was reportedly driving on the wrong side of the road. Though Grey wasn’t seriously injured, the emotional trauma stayed with her. “It didn’t feel good to be the toast of the town,” she said, describing her deep survivor’s guilt.
Struggling with fame and identity, she underwent a nose job that drastically changed her appearance. “I went in a celebrity and came out anonymous,” she later said, feeling as though she disappeared from Hollywood overnight.
Years later, Grey made a comeback, winning Dancing with the Stars in 2010.
That same year, she underwent four major surgeries, including one to fix a spinal issue that could’ve led to paralysis, and another to remove cancer from her thyroid.
Now healthy and back in the industry, Grey has appeared in films like Untogether, Bittersweet Symphony, and I Am Patrick Swayze. Despite everything, she’s returned to where she belongs — the screen.
