‘Dirty Dancing’ star Jennifer Grey has barely aged in 40 years as she attends London film premiere

15 October 2024, 09:25

"Nobody puts Baby in the corner."

It was one of the quotes that established Dirty Dancing as an era-defining hit movie, and made superstars out of its lead actors Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey.

Their turns as Johnny Castle and 'Baby' Houseman ensured both stars were household names from then onwards.

Of course, the film's success was also down to their electric on-screen chemistry and steamy dance scenes which were replicated the world over.

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Swayze was the bigger name of the two, and continued to rise into the ranks of Hollywood great after the film was first released.

Sadly, he lost his life to pancreatic cancer in 2009, leaving a legacy as one of the film industry's most charming presences on the silver screen.

Likewise, Grey also forged a successful career on screen and - based on her recent appearance at London Film Festival - hasn't aged a bit since then.

Jennifer Grey was recently in London for the premiere of her latest film, A Real Pain, which she stars in alongside Succession actor Kieran Culkin.

Directed by The Social Network star Jesse Eisenberg, the film sees a pair of dysfunctional cousins travelling to Poland after the death of their beloved grandmother.

Grey strutted her stuff on the red carpet of the BFI London Film Festival, dressed in a glittering skirt and matching mauve top.

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A Real Pain is Grey's latest film role, having carved out a successful career in film and television since before her role in Dirty Dancing.

Her first notable year in film was 1984, when she came to prominence having starred in three major movies: Reckless, The Cotton Club, and Red Dawn alongside Charlie Sheen and yes, Patrick Swayze.

She later appeared in cult classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off alongside Matthew Broderick, playing the titular Ferris' older, cynical sister Jeanie in 1986.

Though, it was the following year when she'd beat off competition from Winona Ryder, Sharon Stone, and Sarah Jessica Parker for the role of Frances 'Baby' Houseman.

At the height of her career, she was romantically entwined with major stars such as Michael J. Fox, William Baldwin, and Johnny Depp before marrying actor Clark Gregg in 2001.

From then onwards she starred alongside Madonna and Matt Dillon in 1989 musical film, Bloodhounds Of Broadway, but her career collapsed in the decade after.

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Jennifer herself attributes the quiet patch in her career to the nose job she underwent in the early 1990s.

Reflecting on how the two rhinoplasty procedures derailed her on-screen career, Grey said: "It became the thing, the idea of being completely invisible, from one day to the next.

"In the world’s eyes, I was no longer me. And the weird thing was that thing that I resisted my whole life, and the thing I was so upset with [was] my mother for always telling me I should do my nose.

"I really thought it was capitulating. I really thought it meant surrendering to the enemy camp," she later told People magazine.

"I just thought, 'I’m good enough. I shouldn’t have to do this'. That’s really what I felt. 'I’m beautiful enough'."

At the age of 64 and having wowed the red carpet at her recent London appearance, Jennifer Grey is certainly more beautiful than ever.