Friends fans have been left doubting themselves after learning Jennifer Grey, who played “Baby” in Dirty Dancing, appeared in its first series as Rachel Green’s best friend Mindy
People have been left gobsmacked after realising “Baby” from Dirty Dancing guest starred in a Friends episode. Jennifer Grey, 65, became a household name thanks to her role in Dirty Dancing acting alongside Patrick Swayze, but many Grey fans had no idea she guest starred as Mindy, Rachel Green’s best friend, on Friends, appearing in episode 20 of the first season.
On Reddit, one shocked fan said: “How did I only just today realise that Mindy’s actress is Jennifer Grey? Baby from Dirty Dancing? My mind is blown! OMG.”
Commenting on the post, one user said: “Oh my god – I’m embarrassed to say I lit just learnt this now.”
Another user added: “Another fact in case anyone doesn’t know – Jennifer Grey of course played Ferris Bueller’s sister Jeannie in the film with Matthew Broderick. But they made a Ferris Bueller TV series spin off and Jennifer Aniston played Jeannie!”
A third user said: “I never knew this, and I’m 43, and watched both Dirty Dancing and Friends in real time.”
One more user added: “To be fair, there were two different actors playing Mindy. The Mindy that actually marries Barry is played by Jana Marie Hupp.”
Another user said: “My god. I’m old enough to remember watching Friends when it first aired, so I’ve been a fan for years. Clearly not a good one though because I never knew this! My mind is blown.”
A final user said: “Oh wow I never noticed this before either, thanks for pointing it out!”
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In the show, Grey’s character, Mindy, ends up marrying Barry, who was Rachel’s ex fiancé who left her jilted at the alter.
However, she only played the role once before being recast with Jana Marie Hupp due to her “bad anxiety”.
Speaking to MediaVillage, she said: “When I did it, I had such bad anxiety because they kept changing the script. It’s very hard to be a guest star, because you’re not a part of it, and you’re really trying to figure it all out.
“They were trying to figure out what the character was, what the scene was, and it was changing, and changing, and changing. It all made me so anxious that I could barely do it.”
She admitted it wasn’t until after she took the role that she realised she “needed help in the anxiety department”, meaning she opted to turn down a return to the role.
Not only this, but she also said she was “sad” at being unable to host Saturday Night Live at the time for the same reason.
She explained that she wished people would have been able to “help me navigate that kind of fear”, but confessed she didn’t realise the issue until it happened.