Tuesday, November 19, 2024

80s Hollywood star still ageless almost 40 years after hit movie

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Jennifer Grey has returned for a new movie (Picture: Getty)

Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Grey is looking ageless, four decades after starring as ‘Baby’ Houseman in her signature role.

The Hollywood star, 64, found fame starring opposite Patrick Swayze in the 1987 classic.

The film followed young Baby as she met and fell for dance instructor Johnny Castle at a resort in the Catskill Mountains – wowing audiences with their electric chemistry and steamy dance sequences.

In the years which followed, Jennifer went on to an illustrious career in film and television, including episodes of Friends, House M.D. and Grey’s Anatomy.

The actor returns to screens in this year’s A Real Pain, in which she plays a character named Marcia.

43 years later, and the always-incandescent Jennifer has proved that there’s still no putting Baby in the corner.

Jennifer took to the red carpet in London this week (Picture: Shutterstock)
The actress stars in Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain (Picture: Getty Images)

Arriving at the film’s UK premiere at BFI London Film Festival, Jennifer wore a plunging burgundy top, glitzy midi skirt and matching high heels.

The film is directed by Jesse Eisenberg, 40, who also stars alongside Kieran Culkin, 41. The pair play cousins David and Benji Caplan, travelling to Poland in the wake of their beloved grandmother’s death.

Jennifer was pictured with the director and her co-stars as they celebrated the film’s premiere, sharing a big hug on the film’s red carpet.

Jennifer starred as Baby in Dirty Dancing (Picture: Shutterstock)
Prior to Dirty Dancing, she and Patrick Swayze starred in the action film Red Dawn (Picture: Shutterstock)

Jennifer rose to fame in 1984, appearing in that year’s Reckless, Red Dawn and The Cotton Club. She later appeared as the titular character’s younger sister in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and a 1986 episode of The Equalizer.

Aged 27, she went on to star in Dirty Dancing, beating out the likes of Winona Ryder, Sarah Jessica Parker and Sharon Stone for the role.

In 1989, she starred opposite Matt Dillon and Madonna in the musical film Bloodhounds of Broadway.

Jennifer starred opposite Madonna in 1989’s Bloodhounds of Broadway (Picture: Shutterstock)

If things went quiet for the star in the years following, Jennifer attributes this to undergoing a nose job in the 1990s.

The actor recalled: ‘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.’

In the years following, Jennifer went on to appear on season seven of Dancing With the Stars, ultimately winning along with professional dancer Derek Hough – making her the oldest competitor to win the competition.

In 2011, Jennifer stood in for judge Len Goodman on Strictly Come Dancing for two episodes.

The star’s experience in Dirty Dancing put her in good stead to win Dancing With the Stars (Picture: Shutterstock)

Last year, Jennifer finalised her divorce to Avengers star Clark Gregg, with whom she shares a daughter.

The pair originally announced that they were divorcing in July 2020, after 19 years of marriage. In January 2023, the pair agreed conditions – with the MCU star agreeing to pay spousal support – with the understanding that payments would cease should she remarry.

Prior to her marriage, Jennifer also dated Michael J. Fox, William Baldwin, Matthew Broderick and Johnny Depp – expressing how ‘sad’ she found his 2022 defamation trial.

Sharing her views at the time, she said: ‘All I can say about that trial is that it breaks my heart for everybody involved.

I just think it’s sad and I wish it was resolved and I just wish everybody well,’ she added.

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