Lisa Niemi

Lisa Niemi

Together, Lisa Niemi and Patrick Swayze dealt with success, disappointment, addiction, and loss. Then the two of them coped together with Patrick’s cancer diagnosis and treatment. Here is more information about the successful long term marriage of Lisa Niemi and Patrick Swayze.

Born

Patrick Wayne Swayze: August 18, 1952 in Houston, Texas

Lisa Niemi aka Lisa A. Haapaniemi: May 26, 1956 in Houston, Texas.

Died

Patrick: Patrick Swayze died on September 14, 2009 at the age of 57 after losing his courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.

How Patrick and Lisa Met

Lisa and Patrick met when she was 16 years old. Lisa was one of Patrick’s mother’s dancing students. Patrick about meeting Lisa: “I robbed the cradle. All these girls were studying with my mum and I used to go and check them out in their leotards – it was like being in a candy store … She didn’t buy any of my nonsense. We spent half our dates in total silence as she wouldn’t talk to me if she thought I was putting on an act.”

Dirty Dancing

Dirty Dancing

Dirty Dancing became an iconic film that grossed $170 million worldwide and launched the careers of Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze, who put his classically trained moves to swoon-worthy good use in the movie's memorable finale scene. "Sometimes in the film business magic happens," Swayze told PEOPLE in 1997 about the movie's enduring appeal. Talk about a first dance to remember! British couple Julia and James – and countless other newlyweds – followed their "I do's" with their rendition of the sizzling dirty dance. Since it was first posted on YouTube in February 2007, the pair's knockout performance has been viewed more than 6 million times.

In season 2 of the reality dance competition, pros Tony Dovolani and Cheryl Burke recreated Johnny and Baby's famous moves in the ballroom to a live performance of "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley. Call her the real-life Bridget Jones! British reporter Dawn Porter – a massive Dirty Dancing fan who has seen the movie more than 100 times – took on what seemed to be an impossible assignment: Learn the film's iconic dance in two weeks with the help of a pro.

Even the iconic doll and her longtime beau got in on the Dirty dance craze! The mannequins – with a supporting cast of Barbie's friends – show they're stiff competition when it comes to the final liftoff. Comics Paddy McGuinness and Keith Lemon proved that two men, one mustache and a flash of pink bloomers were the elements needed to recreate Dirty Dancing's famous scene for Let's Dance for Comic Relief, a BBC One TV fund-raiser that pulled in almost $600,000 for charity. It worked: The duo made it to the finals of the charity dance competition.