The Cast of Dirty Dancing: Where are They Now?

In 1987, Jennifer Grey was cast as the female lead of Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman in Dirty Dancing at the age of 26. As a trained dancer – like her famous father Joel Grey – Jennifer won out the role that would soon catapult her into stardom. 

Earning a Golden Globe nomination for her role in Dirty Dancing, Grey has since starred in many Hollywood productions and also won the 2010 season of America’s Strictly Come Dancing. Grey is also set to appear in an upcoming film alongside Irish hunk Jamie Dornan, Girls star Jemima Kirke and Aussie actor Ben Mendelsohn. The film, Untogether, is scheduled for release later this year and tells the story of a former teen prodigy turned heroin addict who tries to become a writer now that she’s sober. 

At the age of 35, Swayze, already a household name in Hollywood, scored the lead male role of Johnny Castle in Dirty Dancing. The actor went on to star in numerous Hollywood productions, most notably Ghost and Point Break. 

In 2009, at the age of 57, Patrick Swayze tragically passed away from pancreatic cancer with his wife of 34 years, Lisa Niemi, by his side. Swayze’s death stirred up significant grief within the entertainment industry, and celebrities and former co-stars of Swayze’s rushed to pay tribute. Jennifer Grey opened up about Swayze’s decline in health and untimely death in an interview with Closer Weekly last year, where she described the late actor as “fearless”. 

Cynthia Rhodes burst onto the scene as the beautiful professional dancer, Penny, on Dirty Dancing.

Dirty Dancing was Cynthia’s biggest on-screen role. Before the film’s success, she had previously danced as Tina Tech in Flashdance and Jackie in Staying Alive. Post-Dirty Dancing, she acted one last time as Vickie Phillips in Curse of the Crystal Eye.

Baby’s older sister was the singing and dancing Lisa, who was played by real-life singer and dancer Jane Brucker.

After Dirty Dancing, Brucker was in a few more films and has also appeared documentaries about Dirty Dancing like E! True Hollywood Story.

Dr. Houseman, Baby and Lisa’s father, was the man who saved Penny’s life but who then ended up resenting Johnny for it.

Post-Dirty Dancing, Orbach went on to play Detective Lennie Briscoe on Law & Order for five years. He’s also known for voicing Lumiere in the original Beauty and the Beast.

Baby and Lisa’s mum Marjorie was played by Kelly Bishop, who is better known these days for her role as another mother on a hit TV series.

Now famous for playing Emily Gilmore on Gilmore Girls for seven years, Bishop was most recently on our screens earlier this year for the show’s Netflix remake.