When Cynthia Rhodes wasn’t Staying Alive on the dance floor with John Travolta, she was Dirty Dancing with Patrick Swayze.
Boasting a legacy of screen roles in iconic dance dramas of the 1980s, Rhodes, who turned 67 in November 2023, gracefully bowed out of the spotlight at the pinnacle of her career.
Keep reading to learn why Hollywood’s triple threat retired so early!
Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Cynthia Rhodes is a singer and dancer who started acting with a small role in the 1980 musical fantasy film Xanadu, which starred the late Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly.
Her performance as the dancer Tina Tech in the 1983 film Flashdance led to an even bigger role that same year as John Travolta’s love interest, a Broadway dancer in Staying Alive, the sequel to Saturday Night Fever directed by Sylvester Stallone.
It was in 1987 that she played her most memorable role, Penny Johnson, a resort hotel dance instructor in Dirty Dancing.
In her role, she dazzled audiences with her graceful and flashy Mambo-style moves alongside the late Patrick Swayze, and shared some emotionally charged scenes with him.
Rhodes, describing Penny as having an “edge,” both charmed and shocked viewers as the character who had a botched illegal abortion.
The film, featuring a socially relevant subplot of reproductive rights with Rhodes at the center, positioned the three lead characters—Swayze as Johnny, Jennifer Grey as Baby, and Rhodes—for super stardom.
“She’s from South Philly and she’s had a rough life… She’s got a sweetness about her but it’s put back because she’s had a hard time, and she has sort of put up a wall.” Rhodes continued, “And, in the end, I think she finally realizes that life does go on.”
Life did go on for the actress but not in the direction fans had hoped.
After training 10 hours a day for the role of Penny, Rhodes explained that dancing became “really hard.” “That’s why I keep saying I’m never going to dance again. I’m tired of dancing…My bones are hurting, my back hurts all the time,” Rhodes said. “It seems like every time I say, ‘That’s it, I don’t want to dance anymore,’ I get another film. I’m not going to turn down work! I feel very fortunate to be in films that are dancing. But it’s like, give me a chance to do some dramatic work without dancing…Just give me a straight acting part.”
The same year Dirty Dancing was released, the talented 31-year-old—who had her pick of roles—appeared in the music video, “Don’t Mean Nothing” by Richard Marx, who is also the singer of “Right Here Waiting” (the 1989 song famously written for Rhodes).
In 1989, Rhodes married the Grammy Award-winning singer and had her first child, Brandon, in 1990, followed by Lucas in 1992, and Jesse in 1994.
According to Marx, Rhodes—who had previously trained for the Olympics—retired in 1990 to care for their children and because of the “intense physical pain” demanded by her dance routines.
“I thought, ‘This won’t last, she’s definitely going to want to come back to work and do films.’ But she found a fulfillment in being a mom that completely dominated any feelings she ever had making a movie.” Marx continued, “Even if you’re her biggest fan, as good as you think she was as a dancer or singer or actress, man, you should see her as a mom.”
It turns out Rhodes, who started dancing when she was only three, was happier being a mom and allowing her body the rest and recovery it needed.
“The thing was, I used to never be sore. In fact, I was a gymnast. And now it’s sort of frustrating…I never used to stretch. Now I have to stretch before I dance. I love to dance, but if I never did it again, I wouldn’t be sorry,” Rhodes said.
And Rhodes hasn’t looked back. The last time she appeared on screen was in the 1991 film, Curse of the Crystal Eye.
The former Hollywood starlet divorced Marx in 2014; he married MTV’s first Latina host, Daisy Fuentes, the following year.
As for her sons, all three are following in the footsteps of their famous parents.
Brandon is now a music producer and singer, Lucas is a singer and actor with appearances in TV series like The Chicago Code, The Mob Doctor, Chicago P.D, and Parenthood. The youngest, Jesse, has joined a metal band and is working on his music.
Dancing requires a high degree of athleticism, so though we miss seeing Cynthia Rhodes, we understand why she decided to leave Hollywood.
What are your favorite films that she’s appeared in?
Please share this story and let’s show the beautiful dancer that she may be gone from the screen but will never be forgotten!
