Jennifer Grey
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| Jennifer Grey | |
 at the 1988 Academy Awards |
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| Born | March 26, 1960 New York City, New York, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Spouse(s) | Clark Gregg (2001–present) |
Jennifer Grey (born March 26, 1960) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Frances "Baby" Houseman in the hit film Dirty Dancing and Jeanie Bueller in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
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[edit] Early life
Born in New York City, Grey is the daughter of stage and screen actor Joel Grey and the granddaughter of comedian and musician Mickey Katz. Her mother is former actress/singer Jo Wilder. She is an alumna of the Dalton School, a private school in Manhattan, and studied both dance and acting.
[edit] Career
Her commercial debut was at the age of 19, in an ad for Dr Pepper. After other small roles, she landed the part of angry sister Jeanie in the hit 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The following year she reunited with Patrick Swayze, whom she had played opposite in Red Dawn, for her biggest role ever, Frances "Baby" Houseman in Dirty Dancing.
In the early 1990s, Grey underwent a rhinoplasty procedure that was so botched she required a second plastic surgery to repair the damage. The result was a face so altered that even close friends failed to recognize her, and the major change in her appearance negatively affected her career. 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."[1] She briefly considered starting over with a new name to go with the new face, but stuck with her original name.[2] In 1999, she reappeared in the short-lived ABC sitcom It's Like, You Know... portraying a variation of herself, a struggling actress named Jennifer Grey. In an episode of the series, she poked fun at herself with a storyline about a much-publicized nose job.
Grey also 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, an episode of Friends as Mindy, and she had a small role in the 2000 film Bounce with Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck. Her sole Broadway theatre credit is The Twilight of the Golds (1993). Grey has recently appeared as Daphne, Meyer's fiancee, on the HBO series John from Cincinnati.
[edit] Personal life
Following engagements to Matthew Broderick and Johnny Depp, and after dating George Stephanopoulos, Grey married actor/director Clark Gregg (The New Adventures of Old Christine) on July 21, 2001, and their daughter Stella was born in December of that year. The couple co-starred in the Lifetime movie Road to Christmas. Grey lives in Los Angeles, California, with her family.
[edit] Roles
- The Cotton Club, 1984
- Reckless, 1984 (Cathy Bennario)
- Red Dawn, 1984 (Toni Mason)
- American Flyers, 1985
- Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 1986 (Jeanie)
- Dirty Dancing, 1987 (Frances "Baby" Houseman)
- Light Years, 1988 (Airelle) voice
- Bloodhounds of Broadway, 1989 (Lovey Lou)
- If the Shoe Fits, 1990 (Kelly Carter)
- Wind, 1992 (Kate Bass)
- Friends,'The One with the Evil Orthodontist', 1994 (Mindy)
- Lovers Knot, 1996 (Megan Forrester)
- Bounce, 2001 (Janice Guerrero)
- The Road to Christmas, 2006 (Claire Jameson)
- Tales From The Crypt Presents: Ritual, 2006 (Dr. Alice Dodgson)
- John from Cincinnati, 2007 (Daphne)
- Redbelt, 2008 (Lucy Weiss)
- Keith, 2008 (Caroline)
[edit] References
- ^ Dirty Dancing - Dirty Dancer Grey's Nightmare Nose Job
- ^ Kendall Hamilton (March 22, 1999). "It's Like, Uh ... Jennifer Grey". Newsweek. p. 73-74.
[edit] External links
- Jennifer Grey at the Internet Movie Database
- Jennifer Grey at the Internet Broadway Database
- Washington Post interview
- Dirty Dancing, The E! True Hollywood Story, video documentary, first aired September 3, 2000
