# Jennifer Grey & Ferris Bueller discussion from "Abe Vigoda" thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [May 5, 2025, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330 "2025-05-05T16:49:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2025, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330/1 "2025-05-05T16:49:26Z")
Jennifer Grey is noted for having a nose job that she came to regret because “_you look_ kind of _like that woman in that movie_.” ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2025, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330/2 "2025-05-05T17:16:24Z")
Jennifer Grey played herself in all 26 episodes of the 1999 - 2001 television show _It’s Like, You Know…_ . She joked about her nose job. She talked about how people would tell her that she looked like Jennifer Grey except for some odd change. They would tell her that it was strange that she had the same name as her too. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330/3 "2025-05-08T19:02:23Z")
Jennifer Grey is also very well known as Jeannie Bueller, the older sister to Matthew Broderick’s title character in _Ferris Bueller’s Day Off_. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330/4 "2025-05-08T19:45:09Z")
I’m pretty sure she was the _younger_ sister. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330/5 "2025-05-08T20:14:54Z")
That was the way the story was planned. Don’t know offhand if it was stated in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330/6 "2025-05-08T20:17:21Z")
Well, she got a car before he did, so it seems natural enough to assume that she got her license first because she was older. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2025, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330/7 "2025-05-08T21:40:20Z")
Jennifer Grey is two years older than Matthew Broderick. It’s not clear what their relative ages are in the movie. I recall reading somewhere that the movie was so confused that it’s not clear who is supposed to be older in the movie. I recall reading that some things in the movie made it seem as if they were in the same grade in the movie. There are two possibilities about what happened according to the movie if they were in the same grade. They could be twins. It could be that one is less than a year older so they were in the same grade even if they weren’t twins. It’s possible for the two children to be only ten months different in age, and it’s possible to be less than that if the older one was born prematurely. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330/8 "2025-05-09T01:40:30Z")
Or one of them could have either skipped a grade or been held back at some point. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330/9 "2025-05-09T02:41:50Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > it’s possible to be less than that if the older one was born prematurely I meant that it’s possible to be less than that if the younger one was born prematurely. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330/10 "2025-05-09T03:50:04Z")
Jeannie: “Wait, you’re letting him stay home? I can’t believe this. If I was bleeding out my eyes, you guys would make me go to school. This is so unfair.” I can’t recall if any scenes actually showed her at school. IMO, this quote places her squarely in high school. Since Ferris is a senior, I took all this to mean Jeannie is younger. The twins theory never occurred to me, though! ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330/11 "2025-05-09T18:02:21Z")
Iirc Jeannie Buehler kissed Charlie Sheen’s character in the police station, so it would be kinda creepy if Jeannie was much younger than Ferris, who was a high school senior (so probably 16-18). I’m going with the twins theory. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330/12 "2025-05-09T20:46:30Z")
The shooting script for Ferris Bueller is no help. It describes all of the characters in their first mentions (including two younger siblings cut from the movie). > ``` > "FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF" > > ``` > > 1 BLACK SCREEN 1 > > ``` > MAIN TITLES > > IT'S SILENT. A BEAT...AND AN EXPLOSION OF SOUND. A HOUSEHOLD > IN THE MORNING. KIDS GETTING READY FOR SCHOOL. CLOCK RADIOS. > KITCHEN APPLIANCES. SHOWERS. FIGHTING. PEOPLE YELLING. DOG > BARKING. APPLIANCES BUZZING. CAR HORNS. IT SOUNDS JUST LIKE > YOUR HOUSE DID. STREAMS OF ROCK'N ROLL FADE IN AND OUT. HUEY > LEWIS TO LIONEL RITCHIE TO HUSKER DU. SURROUND MAKES IT FEEL > LIKE YOU'RE IN THE ROOM. AN AURAL TOUR OF A HOUSE ON A > SCHOOL MORNING. BEGINING IN THE KITCHEN AND MOVING UPSTAIRS. > > FATHER'S VOICE (TOM) > Where's my wallet?! > > SEVEN YEAR OLD BOY (TODD) > YOU IDIOT!! > > TWELVE YEAR OLD GIRL (KIMBERLY) > MOM! > > TODD > SHUT-UP! > > **EIGHTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL (JEANIE)** > I NEED A TOWEL!! > > ``` > > **SNIP** > > 2 CLOSE-UP. FERRIS 2 > > ``` > **An eighteen year-old boy.** He's staring lifelessly at CAMERA. > His mouth's open. His eyes are bugged-out. His tongue is fat > and dry in his mouth. He's laying in bed, on his side. > > ``` > > 3 INT. BOY’S BEDROOM 3 > > ``` > Ferris' parents, TOM and JOYCE BUELLER are standing at > bedside. They're in their late forties, early fifties. > Handsome, upper-middle class parents. They're both dressed > for work. > > ``` Later, in the same introduction scene just a couple lines later, it says this: > ``` > FERRIS > I'm okay, Mom. I feel perfectly...Oh, God! > > He's gripped by a seizure. His body stiffens and he chokes. > **His older sister, JEANIE, walks into the room**. She's dressed > for school. She's cute and stuck-up. A major pill. > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330/13 "2025-05-09T21:06:21Z")
Though both Ferris and Jeanie are described as eighteen years old. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330/14 "2025-05-09T21:48:51Z")
Yes, but then it says she’s his older sister. So, it contradicts itself on the first page of the script. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2025, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330/15 "2025-05-09T23:57:51Z")
Speaking of which, that guy’s dad turns 85 in a few months. He has not _always_ seemed old (like in that thing with Jodie Foster), but he has seemed old for several decades. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330/16 "2025-05-12T16:29:49Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > Yes, but then it says she’s his older sister. So, it contradicts itself on the first page of the script. How is that a contradiction? What if one is born, and, like, nine or ten or eleven months later, the other one is born? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330/17 "2025-05-12T18:01:32Z")
I saw an account of the story’s background that says she’s his younger sister. None of that matters to me unless there’s a line actually used in the movie that clears this up. Not that it makes any difference to the movie, but the question of her relative age has to be answered based on what is said in the movie, not something proposed pre-production. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330/18 "2025-05-12T20:21:23Z")
This copy of the script says that they are both eighteen: > **["FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF" by John Hughes](https://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/ferris_bueller_shooting.html)** ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330/19 "2025-05-12T23:21:04Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > How is that a contradiction? What if one is born, and, like, nine or ten or eleven months later, the other one is born? Ferris is a senior. If he was born in the same year as Jeanie, that would put him born Mid to late September at the earliest. Most US schools have a September 1 cutoff for Kindergarten. Illinois is one the them. Unless Jeanie was left back, which doesn’t seem in her character, they can’t be in the same grade. Personally, I believe they really weren’t thinking about it. She’s just “Sister/Antagonist” and the descriptions are just for character and motivation. Her resentment toward Ferris is more “younger brother gets away with stuff she couldn’t get away with” than older brother issues. > [@Who are our current "Abe Vigodas"? (people you might be surprised to learn are still alive)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/970): > > This copy of the script says that they are both eighteen: Yeah, I quoted that above. It then says she’s his older sister. I said that the script is of no help. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2025, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330/20 "2025-05-12T23:42:03Z")
It’s possible for a person to have a sibling who is not a twin but who is the same age. If Jeanie was born on September 8th of one year and Ferris was born on August 12th of the next year, she would have been in the same grade as him. It’s possible for a person to have a sibling who’s just eleven months younger than that person. Anyway, they could be either twins or siblings less than a year apart. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jennifer-grey-ferris-bueller-discussion-from-abe-vigoda-thread/1018330.md?page=2)