Jennifer Grey is opening up about a stressful period in her life. In her new memoir, Out of the Corner, Grey addressed the plastic surgery procedure that threatened to derail her acting career, per PEOPLE. Grey opens up about the subject like never before in her book, which comes out on May 3.
Grey explained that she received two nose jobs, and they led to many saying that she looked unrecognizable. Throughout her memoir, she chronicles the pressures that she faced in the public eye especially as it concerned her appearance. While speaking to PEOPLE about some of the revelations in her book, she recalled how when she went out in public after receiving those procedures, some people did not recognize her. In particular, she noted that Michael Douglas did not know that it was her at first after she received her second nose job.ย
Videos by PopCulture.com
“That was the first time I had gone out in public. And it became the thing, the idea of being completely invisible, from one day to the next,” Grey said. “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 my mother for always telling me I should do my nose. I really thought it was capitulating. I really thought it meant surrendering to the enemy camp. I just thought, ‘I’m good enough. I shouldn’t have to do this.’ That’s really what I felt. ‘I’m beautiful enough.’”
Grey said that both her mother and father underwent rhinoplasty procedures. Her mother even urged her to do the same. But, Grey made sure to note that her mother, a former actor, was suggesting that she undergo the plastic surgery procedure because she wanted her to succeed in the entertainment business. The Dirty Dancing star said, “But when I was a kid, I was completely anti-rhinoplasty. I mean it was like my religion. I loved that my parents did it. [Underwent rhinoplasty] I understand it was the 50s. I understand they were assimilating. I understood that you had to change your name and you had to do certain things, and it was just normalized, right?”
When it comes to how she’s navigating the topic today, Grey said that she’s doing great when it comes to her self-esteem. She addressed that topic, and the rumor that her nose jobs led her to be an outcast from Hollywood, “I spent so much energy trying to figure out what I did wrong, why I was banished from the kingdom. That’s a lie. I banished myself.”