But the couple were involved in a terrible car accident when Broderick, driving on the wrong side of the road, crashed into another vehicle. A mother and her daughter were in the other car – both were killed, instantly.
Broderick was charged with dangerous driving – later reduced to careless driving. Jennifer Grey, meanwhile, suffered nothing more than bruises and minor physical injuries, though her mental scars remained.
The premiere for Dirty Dancing was mere days later. But, despite the success of the film, Grey simply couldn’t enjoy it.
“The juxtaposition of that deep sorrow, the survivor’s guilt, and then being celebrated as the new big thing just didn’t jibe. It didn’t feel good to be the toast of the town,” Grey said, as per the Daily Mirror.
The actress would never fully recover from the trauma brought about by the accident.
”My head was never the same, my ambition was never the same,” she told People.
Nose job from hell
She struggled with survivor’s guilt and disappeared for a couple of years in the early 90s before appearing in one episode of Friends, in 1995.
By then, she had undergone plastic surgery and her face was very different.
“I went in the operating theatre a celebrity and come out anonymous,” she said in 2012.
“It was like being in a witness protection program or being invisible. It was the nose job from hell. I’ll always be this once-famous actress nobody recognises because of a nose job.”
After that, Jennifer had an on-and-off career in Hollywood.
By 2010, Jennifer had forced her way back into the mainstream media. She won the TV show ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and returned to being a firm fan favorite. According to her, that was something that was important to her.
“It’s like I’ve starved myself because of what people could think about me. This is like eating a delicious steak after having been on a diet for 23 years,” the star told People.
In 2018, Grey took another step towards the limelight she left. She is set to appear in ‘Untogether’, as well as new comedy ‘Red Oaks’.
We’re so happy you’ve got your passion and joy back, Jennifer!
Now, who else feels like taking a nostalgia-fuelled trip back to 1987? See below the unforgettable scene from Dirty Dancing. What fantastic memories!
Please share this story with your friends on Facebook. Just as I did, they probably watched Dirty Dancing and wondered what happened to the gorgeous Jennifer Grey!