Cynthia Rhodes

Cynthia Rhodes (born November 21, 1956) is an American actress, singer, and dancer.

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] She later played small roles in the fantasy musical Xanadu (1980) and Francis Ford Coppola's One from the Heart (1982). Both films were panned by critics.^[2] 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 sequel to the hit film Saturday Night Fever. Staying Alive received poor reviews from film critics and was later named the "Worst Sequel Ever Made" by Entertainment Weekly."^[3]

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."^[4]

Rhodes garnered her first non-dance related role in Michael Crichton's science fiction thriller Runaway opposite 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, opposite 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.

In addition to her career as an actress in feature films, Rhodes 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 met the pop singer/songwriter Richard Marx in 1983 while she was working on the motion picture soundtrack for Staying Alive. Rhodes, who was seven years his senior, thought he 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 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

External links

• Cynthia Rhodes at the Internet Movie Database
• Cynthia Rhodes: Actress, Dancer, & Singer