Jennifer Grey.Photo: BRIAN BOWEN SMITH
Jennifer Greyfound her happily ever after in the arms of Patrick Swayze in their iconic 1987 filmDirty Dancing. But in real life, the actress had many battles ahead of her.
“WritingOut of the Cornerhas been the one of the most gratifying things I’ve ever done,” Grey, 61, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive statement. “It gave me the opportunity to slow down and unpack my story, to be more curious than certain about what I thought I knew, and through a lens of compassion, empathy, and, at times, absurdity.”
“I think everybody should write the story of their life. We’re all so busy telling everyone else’s story. Especially in Hollywood,” Grey, who is also aDancing with the Starschampion, continues. “Take back your narrative. It’s one of the most empowering things you can do. For yourself. For your kids. And not only is it a radical act of self-inquiry that can lead to really knowing yourself, but it can also shine a light on where it is you want to go.”
Ballantine Books
Grey was 27 when she starred inDirty Dancing, but the actress was long familiar with Hollywood. Her father is beloved Broadway and film actor Joel Grey. Before landing the career-making role, the young actress made her debut inFerris Bueller’s Day Off.
InOut of the Corner, Grey recalls these roles and other appearances in 1980s films likeRed DawnandThe Cotton Club. She also writes about her “wild child nights” partying in New York City and revisits her romantic life with “self-deprecating humor and frankness,” according to the press release. Grey went on to marry actor Clark Gregg, with whom she shares daughter Stella, 19. Last year, Grey and Greggsplit after 19 years of marriage.
Grey’s memoir explores all of these milestones, including the fallout from her plastic surgery. After rhinoplasty surgeries in the early ’90s changed her look, she says casting directors stopped calling. (“I went in the operating room a celebrity and came out anonymous,” she hassaidof the effect it had on her career.)
The actress opens up about this time in her life “with enormous bravery,” according to the press release.
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“Grey inspires with her hard-won battle back, reclaiming her sense of self from a culture and business that can impose a narrow and unforgiving definition of female worth,” reads the book description. “Distinctive, moving, and powerful, told with generosity and pluck,Out of the Corneris a memoir about a never-ending personal evolution, a coming of age story for women of every age.”
This isn’t the first time Grey has reflected on her life to inspire others.
“Your self-esteem shouldn’t be attached to being perfect or judged,” she said of what she’s learned with age. “What if we all just did what makes us happy?”
“I think one of the things I’ve understood as I’ve gotten older is how little I care what other people think of me,” she continued. “What I’m mostly concerned about is how I feel about myself.”
Out of the Cornerhits bookstores in May 2022.
source: people.com
