Jennifer Grey talks about nose job, Patrick Swayze, more

Reflecting on her life on the cusp of her memoir's release, actor Jennifer Grey recalled her tempestuous teen years as the daughter of famed entertainers, the rhinoplasty that dramatically changed her well-known face, and the tension between herself and Patrick Swayze on the set of her best-known film, 1987's "Dirty Dancing."

"Yes, there was lots of drugs and drinking" at clubs like Studio 54 when she was only 16, Grey told People in an interview posted Monday. "All the time."

"Out of the Corner," the memoir by the now 62-year-old Grey, is scheduled for publication May 3.

Describing herself as then "living a double life," Grey explained that, "I had a boyfriend; we were out at clubs at night. I would change at his house and go to school. … I am, like, just trying to get through the high school years so that I can get on with my life because I am not dating guys my age. … I never dated a teenager in my life. I don't think I ever even kissed a teenager." The interviewer did not follow up on her statement of adult men having dated her when she was a minor.

Grey, whose father is Oscar winner Joel Grey, went on to talk about her second rhinoplasty — surgery to change the shape of the nose — and how screen star Michael Douglas did not then recognize her at a premiere. "That was the first time I had gone out in public," Grey said. "And it became the thing, the idea of being completely invisible, from one day to the next. In the world's eyes, I was no longer me."

Her mother, singer Jo Wilder, had long urged her to have the surgery, she said. "She loves me, loved me, always has, and she was pragmatic because she was saying, 'Guess what? It's too hard to cast you. Make it easier for them.' And then I did and she was right. It wasn't like, 'You're not pretty.' It's like, 'Guess what? If you don't want to be an actor, OK. But if you wanna be an actor … ."

Grey also spoke about her iconic role as Frances "Baby" Houseman, the shy teen who finds love with dashing Catskills-resort dance instructor Johnny Castle (Swayze), and the two stars' merely cordial and sometimes argumentative off-camera relationship.

"The same way Baby and Johnny were not supposed to be together … we weren't a natural match," she said. "And the fact that we needed to be a natural match created a tension. … We were forced to be together. And our being forced to be together created a kind of a synergy, or, like, a friction. I actually just had a thought about Patrick. I feel like if I could say anything to him now I would say, 'I'm so sorry that I couldn't just appreciate and luxuriate in who you were, instead of me wishing you were more like what I wanted you to be.' "

Grey was married to actor Clark Gregg for nearly 19 years before they separated in January 2020 and finalized their divorce just over a year later. The two have a daughter, Stella, 20.