Dirty Dancing Turns 35! Catching Up with the Cast, Then & Now (2024)

Jennifer Grey as Frances "Baby" Houseman

Grey starred as Frances "Baby" Houseman, the naïve yet good-intentioned teen who becomes involved with a hunky dance instructor while at a Catskills resort (the inspiration for which was destroyed by fire) in the 1987 original.

As she told PEOPLE in 2010, she began making "a lot of choices most ambitious people would not have made," following her superstar-making role. Those choices included a 1989 nose job, which radically altered her look.

Without her famous face, Grey still managed to nab roles in TV movies, feature films and shows in the decades after Dirty Dancing. In 2010, she returned to her grooving roots and claimed the mirror ball trophy along with partner Derek Hough on Dancing with the Stars.

In 2001, Grey married actor/writer/director Clark Gregg, with whom she has a daughter, Stella. The couple divorced in 2020.

In her 2022 memoir, Out of the Corner, the actress opened up about her past relationships and life as a young starlet. Grey has also confirmed she will appear in the Dirty Dancing sequel.

Patrick Swayze as Johnny Castle

Swayze's star only continued to rise after his portrayal of dreamy dance instructor Johnny Castle. His hit movies included Road House (1989), Ghost (1990) and Point Break (1991). In 1991, he was named PEOPLE's Sexiest Man Alive.

Swayze died in September 2009 at the age of 57 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. "Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months," his rep told PEOPLE at the time. He and wife Lisa Niemi were married for 34 years prior to his death.

Cynthia Rhodes as Penny Johnson

Rhodes played Penny Johnson, the resort dancer who Baby fills in for following an unexpected pregnancy and subsequent botched abortion. Before Dirty Dancing, she appeared in Xanadu (1980), Flashdance (1983) and Staying Alive (1983). Her last film role was in 1991's Curse of the Crystal Eye.

The actress was married to singer Richard Marx from 1989 to 2014 and is mom to their sons Lucas, Jesse and Brandon.

Jane Brucker as Lisa Houseman

Brucker's role as Baby's elder sister Lisa Houseman was the most notable of her acting career. She also appeared in 1988's Stealing Home and alongside Grey in 1989's Bloodhounds of Broadway.

The actress is married to photographer Raul Vega and has two daughters.

Jerry Orbach as Dr. Jake Houseman

Orbach already had an extensive résumé and a Tony Award to his name by the time he was cast as Baby's father, Dr. Jake Houseman, and his career continued to thrive after Dirty Dancing.

In 1991, he began a 12-year run as Law & Order homicide detective Lennie Briscoe. That year he also secured a place in animation history as the voice of Beauty and the Beast's Lumière.

The actor had two sons with wife Marta Curro, whom he was married to from 1958 to 1975. In 1979, he wed actress Elaine Cancilla.

Orbach died of prostate cancer in 2004 at the age of 69.

Kelly Bishop as Marjorie Houseman

Tony Award-winning Bishop played mom Marjorie Houseman. She followed up Dirty Dancing with roles in Queens Logic (1991), Miami Rhapsody (1995) and Private Parts (1997).

In 2000, she started a seven-year gig as Emily Gilmore on Gilmore Girls, a role she reprised in the 2016 reboot. She also appeared on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Bishop was married to TV personality Lee Leonard from 1981 until his death in 2018.

Lonny Price as Neil Kellerman

Price appeared in Dirty Dancing as Neil Kellerman, the resort owner's grandson who develops an (unrequited) crush on Baby.

The star's theater and screen career has mostly involved directing in the years since. He's taken the helm of episodes of Desperate Housewives and 2 Broke Girls and won Emmys for both Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in Concert (2001) and Sondheim! The Birthday Concert (2010).

Max Cantor as Robbie Gould

Cantor played womanizer Robbie Gould, who dates Baby's sister Lisa and gets Penny pregnant.

After Dirty Dancing, he appeared in Fear, Anxiety & Depression (1989). The actor died of a drug overdose in 1991 at the age of 32.