We Hardly Recognize '80s Actor Jennifer Grey These Days

Jennifer Grey's Hollywood breakthrough came in the 1980s, when she starred as Frances "Baby" Houseman alongside Patrick Swayze in "Dirty Dancing". As an ode to the iconic line in the film, "Nobody puts Baby in the corner," Grey dubbed her 2022 memoir "Out of the Corner". In her book, she discussed her plastic surgery regrets, a decision she didn't make lightly. Of course, almost 40 years on from her "Dirty Dancing" days, the now-65-year-old looks a little different from how she appeared on screen. However, similar to how '80s star Dolly Parton appears in pics before plastic surgery, Grey's rhinoplasty changed her appearance so drastically that her longtime Hollywood acquaintance Michael Douglas couldn't comprehend that it was her at a red carpet event.

These days, plastic surgery is rampant is Hollywood, but Grey said she was originally anti-rhinoplasty and took pride in her identity, appearance, and Jewish origins. However, in her autobiography, she explained that her self-esteem changed when she underwent two surgeries that originally set out to "fine tune" her nose. The first surgery was a success, and Grey said she left the operating room looking more photogenic. But when she was ushered in for a cartilage correction later that year, she woke up a brand new woman. "In the world's eyes, I was no-longer me," she told People. The actress explained that she is trying to embrace her new image and no longer looks for her self-worth in outside opinions.

Not only did her new nose make her feel "completely invisible", Jennifer Grey's unrecognizable face also left her without work. "Overnight, I lost my identity and my career," Grey told The New York Times. In her memoir, the Hollywood actress said she had to convince people that she was actually herself and that her career was at an all-time low. Eventually, with little sign that she would ever return to the blockbuster success that she was used to, she was pushed into a state of suffering.

In retrospect, despite creating some hardships for her career, it seems Grey's nose job ended up changing her life for the better. "I became open and willing to see my life and my choices from a different perspective and with a different narrative," she said (via Now MS). The strong reaction to Grey's new nose made her realize that people too often aspire to be perfect and that the beauty standards for women in the film industry can be extremely damaging. In her mid-60s, Grey has now found a new passion: helping other women appreciate the natural aging process. She works to reiterate the research and risks associated with plastic surgery to prevent others from making the same mistake she did.