When Jennifer Grey clinched a first-place win on Dancing with the Stars last week, she left the ballroom with the mirror-ball trophy – and a ruptured disk in her lower back.
Now that she's done with her weekly dance duties, the Dirty Dancing star, 50, is due to undergo surgery either this week or next, reports Access Hollywood.
"It's just going be like a little surgery where they take out the ruptured disc thing, and you know, it won't be a big deal," she says. "Compared to the other surgeries I had on my neck, my doctor says it won't be a big deal. I'll be home that night."
These "other surgeries" refer to the procedures Grey underwent as a result of the 1987 car accident that left her with two decades worth of chronic neck pain. It was one of these surgeries, which she underwent last year, that revealed she had thyroid cancer. (She later had her entire thyroid removed.)
But it was the spirit of the show that took the pain – which was made obvious by the ice pack tucked into her costume on the show's finale – away, she says.
"I got to tell you, the win and the experience of doing – more the experience of doing Dancing with the Stars – already, like I don't even remember the pain I was in a week ago," she says. "I just have some discomfort in [my] back that needs to be taken care of ... Okay, it's a little more than discomfort."
With a season full of surprises and shocking eliminations, it's no mystery that Tuesday's finale of Dancing with the Stars was a nail-biter, right down to the last remaining minutes of the telecast.
As consistently low-scoring Bristol Palin advanced ahead of stronger dancers like Audrina Patridge and Brandy, fans and the media argued about whether Dancing had lost its credibility.
Palin held her own on Monday night's performance show against the season's most dynamic performer, actress Jennifer Grey, and charismatic actor Kyle Massey. Still, Palin received the lowest scores.
Did Palin's fans vote in droves to ensure she takes the Season 11 mirror-ball trophy home to Alaska? Or did America truly vote for the best dancer – which, depending on whom you ask, is either Grey or Massey?
It's Jennifer Grey!
The audience cheered and the actress broke into tears as her professional partner, Derek Hough, jumped up and and down. This is the third win for Hough, who also had victories with Nicole Scherzinger and Brooke Burke.
Grey, 50, endured health problems throughout the competition and on Tuesday night danced through pain from a slipped disc.
Massey, 19, came in second place, and Palin's amazing run ended. The 20-year-old daughter of Sarah Palin had a third-place finish.
Grey has dazzled Dancing With the Stars fans and judges with incredible routines. And on Monday night, the season's final performance show, Grey and partner Derek Hough achieved perfection for the second week in a row.
They received 30 out of 30 points for both of their dances – a paso doble that had the audience and the judges on their feet and a freestyle that had Bruno Tonioli raving about "two dances at the opposite end of the spectrum and both equally brilliant!"
Kyle Massey and Lacey Schwimmer didn't disappoint with a suave foxtrot that earned a solid 27 out of 30 points and had judge Len Goodman gushing that the actor had gone from "Messy Massey to marvelous."
The duo's hip-hop themed freestyle earned them a score of 29 out of 30 points and Massey a new nickname from Carrie Ann Inaba, who called him "the Fresh Prince of Dancing with the Stars."
At the bottom, once again, were Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas.
The 20-year-old Palin emerged from a hibernation of sorts – and not just because Mama Grizzly Sarah Palin was sitting in the front row – with the routine that earned a much-deserved standing ovation and a score of 27 out of 30.
But their Chicago-themed freestyle didn't fare as well. The musical-inspired routine fell short, with Bruno Tonioli commenting that it was "not quite at the level" of what a finale night freestyle should be, earning 25 points for a combined total score of 52/60 for the night.
Now that the judges' scores have been tallied, the contestants' fates are in the hands of the American voting public. Will Palin's fans pull her through again? Hopefully NOT!
The season 11 live results show airs tonight at 9:00 pm (ET) on ABC.
Kyle Massey wooed the Dancing With the Stars judges during the semifinals, but was it enough? Or did Bristol Palin's amazing run finally end?
And did Brandy's fall to the bottom two send her packing? Or is Jennifer Grey going to be the latest surprise elimination on Tuesday night?
It's another ballroom shocker: Brandy was sent packing.
Members of the audience 
gasped and some booed at hearing the results, but the R&B star's pro partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, took the high road.
"People vote and their voices count," he said. "I don't regret a second ... of being on this season. It's been an amazing journey."
Moving to the finals are Massey, Grey and Palin.
The rock-n-roll-themed episode has everyone on Dancing With the Stars all shook up.
Jennifer Grey fell from grace, failing to impress judges Monday night with her Paso Doble. The actress and partner Derek Hough's combined score with the bonus free-for-all round was 29, only one point higher than struggling regulars Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas. Kurt Warner and Anna Trebunskaya, meanwhile, ended up in last place with a meager total of 22.
So who was sent packing?
In a shocker, Audrina Patridge was eliminated. She and partner Tony Dovolani had been tied with Rick Fox and Cheryl Burke for second place after each pair scored all eights.
"I've had so much fun this entire experience," said Patridge. "Tony has been such an amazing teacher." To the judges, she added, "Thank you for all the comments."
R&B singer Brandy remains atop the leader board after earning Monday night's highest score and dominating the dance marathon.
It’s time to take off the flip-flops and put on the dancing shoes as the cast of Dancing with the Stars season 11 is now in place.
Baywatch alum David Hasselhoff will compete against Jersey Shore hunk Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino, as well as former NFL star Kurt Warner, singer Michael Bolton, Bristol Palin and actress Jennifer Grey, Dancing with the Stars hosts Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke announced in a live press conference Monday night during a new episode of Bachelor Pad.
Also ready to hit the ballroom are Brady Bunch star Florence Henderson, Hills star Audrina Patridge, former Los Angeles Laker Rick Fox, singer Brandy, comedian Margaret Cho and actor Kyle Massey.
The celebrity-professional pairings will be revealed Wednesday. And the new season of Dancing kicks off September 20th on ABC.
Patrick Swayze promised never to put Baby in a corner. That signature line – and the sultry dance steps and smoldering chemistry between him and costar Jennifer Grey – rocketed the two young actors to stardom in 1987 with Dirty Dancing.
"When I think of him, I think of being in his arms when we were kids, dancing, practicing the lift in the freezing lake, having a blast doing this tiny little movie we thought no one would ever see," Grey, who played Frances "Baby" Houseman, remembers of Swayze, who died Monday at age 57 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Grey, 49, says Swayze was a "real cowboy with a tender heart," who was so fearless doing his own stunts that "it was not surprising to me that the war he waged on his cancer was so courageous and dignified."
"Patrick was a rare and beautiful combination of raw masculinity and amazing grace," she adds. "My heart goes out to his wife and childhood sweetheart, Lisa Niemi, to his mom, Patsy, and to the rest of their family."
Dirty Dancing's choreographer, Kenny Ortega, said in a statement, "Patrick was a great human being who I knew as a loving son, husband, brother and friend. He was one of the most creative, enjoyable and alive people I knew. He did as much for dancing as any man of our generation.
"Patrick loved life, and had such an enthusiasm for everything he did. If he could climb it, he climbed it. If he could write it, he wrote it. If he could dance it, well, we all know he did. He lived."
Ortega concluded, "Patrick Swayze was a loving and soulful man. The planet has lost a big heart. And I, a forever friend. My loving thoughts to Lisa, Patsy and his entire family."
When Jennifer Grey clinched a first-place win on Dancing with the Stars last week, she left the ballroom with the mirror-ball trophy – and a ruptured disk in her lower back.
