HOT GALLERY: 27 Years Later, Looking Back at the Stars of Dirty Dancing
It’s just one of those movies that stays with you. Dirty Dancing was a love story, first and foremost, but not just between its leads (Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze); it’s an ode to the music and dance of the early ’60s. And, oh, the music: The soundtrack produced a big hit for star Patrick Swayze—“She’s Like the Wind”—as well as relaunching decades-old hits like “Cry to Me,” “Be My Baby,” and “Do You Love Me.” And that memorable final dance, set to “Time of My Life,” remains a touchstone of cinematic (and romantic) triumph, most recently making a seductive appearance in last year’s Crazy, Stupid, Love. Let’s look back at Dirty Dancing 27 years later... By Nina Hämmerling SmithGrey had played supporting roles—notably as the aggravated sister in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, in which she had a hilarious scene with Charlie Sheen—before hitting it big in Dirty Dancing. But her career afterward slowed down, especially when, not long after Dirty Dancing, Grey had a nose job that went awry; instead of just removing a bump, it changed her look completely. “I went in the operating theater a celebrity—and came out anonymous,” she has said about it. “I’ll always be this once-famous actress nobody recognizes.” Well, not quite: She won season 11 of Dancing with the Stars (Grey and her partner, Derek Hough, performed a Viennese waltz to “These Arms of Mine”—which was also featured in a memorable Dirty Dancing scene). Next up for Grey is In Your Eyes, a sci-fi romance written by Joss Whedon—who, incidentally, directed her husband, Clark Gregg, as Agent Coulson in The Avengers.