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"It's very hard to balance being there for somebody else and taking care of yourself." While that's so true, Jennifer Grey seems to do it with grace and style. From her family life to her Golden Globe nomination for Dirty Dancing (1987), Grey has never wavered in her desire to act or the goals she sets for herself. Not only is Grey known for two of the most iconic roles in 1980s films, but her TV work also includes the Amazon series Red Oaks and Season Eleven of Dancing with the Stars (2010), which she won. She started out at a high level of stardom, but she's kept herself relevant throughout the years.

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Playing the sister in Ferris Bueller's Day Off got her noticed by talent agents and fans alike. But how did Grey get her start, and what else has she done since those first, iconic roles? Read on to find out, and learn about Grey's early years, all that she went through to get to Hollywood, and how she spends her time, now that she achieved stardom and had the opportunity to choose what she wanted to work on next. Like many actors, Grey was focused on getting into Hollywood with nearly any role, but she was fortunate enough to end up in roles that launched her career, instead of stagnated it.

Jennifer's Early Life and Career

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Jennifer Grey was born in Manhattan. Her father was a screen and stage actor who was also an Academy Award winner. Her mother was a former actor and singer. Mickey Katz, Grey's paternal grandfather, was a musician and comedian, so Grey had an "in" with the acting world from the very beginning. She went to a private school in Manhattan called Dalton School, and studied acting and dancing there. She met actress Tracy Pollan, who became her best friend. In 1978 she graduated, and then she enrolled at Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in Manhattan.

She trained to be an actress for two years there, while she waitressed to support herself. At the age of 19, Grey made her commercial debut in a Dr. Pepper ad. Then she appeared in the film Reckless (1984), but it was a very small role. She had another small role in The Cotton Club (1984), and starred in Red Dawn that same year. In 1985, she was in American Flyers. But it was her 1986 role as Jeanie Bueller in Ferris Bueller's Day Off that really got her noticed. Not only was the film successful commercially, but it was appreciated by critics, as well.

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She has said, "Aging is inevitable, and the idea that we can be eternally youthful is the pitfall of our society." She was very young when she got into acting and started appearing in movies, but she has aged gracefully and kept her focus on the values that are important to her. She had rhinoplasty on her nose twice, with the second time being to correct problems from the first time. Unfortunately it changed her look to the point that it harmed her career. That was largely because she looked so different that no one recognized her, and she considered changing her name and reinventing herself but ultimately didn't do it.

Being Imperfect in the Perfection of Hollywood

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"When I try to be perfect, it makes me not have fun." Few wiser words have been said. The perfect is often the enemy of the good, or the good enough. Grey tried to be perfect in some of her roles, and those were typically the roles where she didn't fare as well with the critics or with the fans. In general, she found that shunning the perfection of Hollywood made it easier for her to really enjoy the roles she took and do a good job with those roles, as well. She has even been on Broadway, in The Twilight of the Gods (1993).

Grey appeared on an episode of Friends, and also had a minor role in Bounce (2000). She was in an HBO series in 2007, and in an episode of House in 2010. The film Untogether, released in 2019, has Grey as a co-star. While Grey has had problems from her nose job and the way it affected her career, the largest issue for her continued ability to act was a car crash she was in, in 1987. She ended up with severe whiplash, and eventually had a titanium plate placed in her neck. After the crash she stayed away from acting for some time, but eventually returned to it.

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She also had a cancerous nodule removed from her thyroid in 2010, before she appeared on Dancing with the Stars. She participated in a Women's March in Los Angeles in 2017. In July of 2001, Grey married Clark Gregg, an actor and director. The couple had a daughter who was born that same year. They live in Venice and starred in a Lifetime movie together in 2006 entitled The Road to Christmas. It's clear that Grey may not be perfect, but it's also clear that she's having a lot of fun, but in Hollywood and in her personal life as a wife and mother. It's great way to enjoy her life and her career.