GWEN SHAMBLIN: STARVING FOR SALVATION

(Feb. 4, On lifetime)

We loved her as Baby in Dirty Dancing, but in the new ripped-from-the-headlines TV mov-ie, Gwen Shamblin: Starving for Salvation it's a Jennifer Grey that you've never seen before as she takes on the role of controversial megachurch leader and Christian diet guru Gwen Shamblin.

"I was fascinated by this wild, larger-than-life, controversial character when I saw the HBO documentary, The Way Down," said Grey, 62. The prospect of playing a real per-son, in addition to someone so completely unlike me, terrified me to my core."

Shamblin was the founder of the Tennes-see-based Remnant Fellowship Church and the Weigh Down Workshop, a successful Christian-based diet program that preached the virtue of a slim waist and the power of prayer for weight loss. "I'm very curious about charismatic leaders, especially one that held so much sway over her devoted followers spanning 20 years, and then started her own church in a conservative Christian landscape that has almost exclusively belonged to men," added Grey.

Shamblin died in May 2021 when the plane that her husband, Joe, was flying crashed shortly after takeoff, killing the couple, their son-in-law, and four other Church leaders.