- Cynthia Rhodes
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Cynthia Rhodes 
Born November 21, 1956
Nashville, Tennessee,
United StatesOccupation Actress, singer, dancer Years active 1980–1991 Spouse Richard Marx (married 1989-present) Children Brandon (born 1990)
Lucas (born 1992)
Jesse (born 1994)Cynthia Rhodes (born November 21, 1956) is an American actress, singer and dancer most noted for her roles in Dirty Dancing, Flashdance and Staying Alive.
Contents
Career
Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Rhodes began her career working at Opryland USA as a singer and dancer while attending Glencliff High School in Nashville, Tennessee, during the 1970s.[1] Born and raised in a Baptist family, Rhodes tried to maintain a clean-cut image in her acting roles and in the media. During her brief career, she turned down scripts that required nudity and refused offers to pose for pictorials in Playboy magazine. Sylvester Stallone, the director of Staying Alive, reinforced these facts by stating that Rhodes "would sooner quit the business before doing anything to embarrass her parents."[2]
Rhodes played small roles in the fantasy musical Xanadu (1980) and Francis Ford Coppola's One from the Heart (1982), both of which were panned by critics.[3] Following a minor part as Tina Tech in the musical film Flashdance, Rhodes played the role of Jackie, an ensemble dancer, bar band singer, and character Tony Manero's (John Travolta) love interest in Sylvester Stallone's film Staying Alive, the poorly received sequel to the hit film Saturday Night Fever.[4]
Rhodes garnered her first non-dance related role in Michael Crichton's science fiction thriller Runaway with Tom Selleck, Kirstie Alley and Gene Simmons. Her most notable role was as dance instructor Penny Johnson in the hit 1987 motion picture Dirty Dancing, with Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze.[5] Rhodes' final motion picture role was the character of Vickie Phillips opposite actor Jameson Parker in the sleeper action/adventure movie Curse of the Crystal Eye.
Rhodes also appeared as a dancer in music videos, such as "Rosanna" by the band Toto, "Woman In You" by the Bee Gees, and "Don't Mean Nothing" by Richard Marx. She was a dancer for the glam rock band The Tubes when they toured in the early 1980s. Rhodes later joined the 80's pop group Animotion replacing the group's singer Astrid Plane for the recording of its third and final album of original material. Though the group's single "Room to Move" rose to #9 on the Billboard charts, the album failed to match the group's earlier success, peaking at only #110 on the pop charts; shortly thereafter, the group disbanded.[6] In 2002, Rhodes co-wrote the smooth jazz track "Perfect Day" with husband Richard Marx for December, trumpeter Chris Botti's holiday album.[7]
Personal life
Rhodes is married to singer/songwriter Richard Marx. She met Marx in 1983 while she was working on the motion picture soundtrack for Staying Alive. Rhodes, seven years his senior, thought Marx was much too young for her to date at the time.[8] Marx and Rhodes didn't start their relationship until two years later, when they both were reacquainted at a party. After a four-year courtship, the couple married on January 8, 1989.[9] After marrying Marx, Rhodes retired from film acting, dancing, and singing to become stay-at-home mother to the couple's three sons[6] They currently reside in Lake Bluff, Illinois.
Filmography
- Xanadu (1980) - Ensemble dancer
- One from the Heart (1982)
- Flashdance (1983) - Tina Tech
- Staying Alive (1983) - Jackie
- Runaway (1984) - Officer Karen Thompson
- Dirty Dancing (1987) - Penny Johnson
- Curse of the Crystal Eye (1991) - Vickie Phillips
Songs
- "Room To Move" - Animotion (1989)
- "Calling It Love" - Animotion (1989)
- "I'm Never Gonna Give You Up" with Frank Stallone - Staying Alive Soundtrack (1983)[5]
- "Finding Out The Hard Way" - Staying Alive Soundtrack (1983)[5]
References
- ^ "Cynthia Rhodes Actor Biography". Yahoo.com. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800113431. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
- ^ "Two for Travolta". People Magazine/AOL Time Warner. http://www.nctc.net/hazard/marx/cynthia/rosanna.html. Retrieved 2007-07-30.
- ^ "Cynthia Rhodes Bio". Hollywood.com. http://www.hollywood.com/celebrity/Cynthia_Rhodes/190895. Retrieved 2007-07-30.
- ^ "25 Worst Sequels Ever Made". EW.com. http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20041669_20041686_1169126_25,00.html. Retrieved 2009-02-11.
- ^ a b c "Cynthia Rhodes Filmography". Internet Movie Database. http://imdb.com/name/nm0722407. Retrieved 2007-07-30.
- ^ a b "Cynthia Rhodes Biography". Internet Movie Database. http://imdb.com/name/nm0722407/bio. Retrieved 2007-07-30.
- ^ "December 2002". SmoothJazzNow.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-31. http://web.archive.org/web/20071031090329/http://www.smoothjazznow.com/review_chris_botti_december.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
- ^ "Life After L.A". People Magazine/AOL Time Warner. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20138104,00.html. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
- ^ "Richard Marx trades stardom for producing, parenthood". CNN/AOL/Time Warner. 2002-09-24. http://archives.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/24/people.watn.richard.marx/. Retrieved 2007-08-05.
External links
Categories:- 1956 births
- American female singers
- American dancers
- American film actors
- Living people
- People from Nashville, Tennessee
- Actors from Tennessee
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