Lisa Niemi | |
|---|---|
 Niemi in 1990 | |
| Born | Lisa Anne Haapaniemi May 26, 1956 Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Other names | Lisa Niemi Swayze |
| Education | Houston Ballet Dance Company |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1975–present |
| Spouses | |
| Relatives | Don Swayze (brother-in-law) |
Lisa Niemi Swayze (born May 26, 1956) is an American writer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and director. She is the widow of actor and dancer Patrick Swayze.
Lisa Anne Haapaniemi was born in Houston, Texas, the only daughter of six children born to Finnish American family of Edmond Melvin Haapaniemi, a Red Cross worker, and Edna Karin Haapaniemi (née Hyttinen), a registered nurse. [1] Niemi has said her father and her mother's professions were her inspiration and encouragement. [2] [3] She graduated from the Houston Ballet Dance Company in 1974. [4] She shortened her surname from Haapaniemi (meaning in English "Aspen Cape") to Niemi ("Cape") in 1977 for her theatre stage name. [5]
In the 1970s, Niemi and her husband pursued dance careers in New York City.
Lisa Niemi Swayze wrote, directed and starred in the 2003 film One Last Dance alongside her husband. [6] [7] One Last Dance was based on Without a Word, a successful play written 18 years before which had won six Drama Critics Awards. Niemi said, "It was basically based on our experiences as concert dancers in New York, and it affected people a lot." [8]
She co-starred in Steel Dawn (1987) [9] with Swayze and co-starred in Beat Angel (2004). Niemi also appeared in Letters from a Killer , Next of Kin , Younger and Younger , Live! From Death Row, She's Having a Baby and Slam Dance . Niemi directed Dance, a 1990 film. [10]
Niemi co-starred as Carla Frost in 23 episodes of the TV series Super Force from 1990 to 1991. [11] [12] [13] She once again directed her husband, this time in an episode of his TV series The Beast . The episode, titled "No Turning Back", aired on April 9, 2009. It was his last performance before his death.
On September 29, 2009, Niemi Swayze released a memoir, The Time of My Life, which became a New York Times Best Seller. The book was co-written by Patrick Swayze, and it was finished shortly before his death. [14] [15] On January 2, 2012, Niemi Swayze released another memoir, Worth Fighting For, which also became a New York Times Best Seller.
At age 14, at the Houston Ballet Dance Company, Niemi met the owner and director's son, Patrick Swayze; the two eventually got married when she was 19 years old. Niemi and Swayze were married on June 12, 1975, [16] [17] and remained married until Swayze's death from pancreatic cancer on September 14, 2009. Shortly after they wed, the couple moved to New York City to pursue their dance careers until the late 1970s, when they relocated to Los Angeles, California. In addition to dancing and filmmaking, they ran a construction business and raised horses together. [18] [19] The Swayzes had no children. [20]
In 1985, Lisa Swayze began living on a 5-acre (20,000 m2) homestead near the Angeles National Forest, along with a "menagerie of dogs, prized Arabian horses and rodeo cattle". [16] She also had a 20,000-acre (81 km2) ranch in New Mexico. [21]
She is a licensed pilot and flew Swayze to his cancer treatments prior to his death. [16] While filming One Last Dance in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Niemi was made an honorary citizen of the city. [22] After her husband's death, she became the Chief Ambassador of Hope for Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. In July 2011, she was made a Dame of the Royal Order of Francis I of the Two Sicilies. [23]
On December 28, 2013, it was announced that she was engaged to Albert DePrisco, a jeweler. [24] On May 25, 2014, the couple were married. [25]
Ghost is a 1990 American supernatural romance film directed by Jerry Zucker from a screenplay by Bruce Joel Rubin, and starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Goldwyn, Vincent Schiavelli, and Rick Aviles. It focuses on Sam Wheat (Swayze), a murdered banker, whose ghost sets out to save his girlfriend, Molly Jensen (Moore), from the person who killed him – through the help of the psychic Oda Mae Brown (Goldberg).
Patrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer, and singer-songwriter known for playing distinctive lead roles, particularly romantic, tough, and comedic characters. He was also known for his media image and looks; People magazine named Swayze the "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1991.
Jerome Bernard Orbach was an American actor and singer, described at the time of his death as "one of the last bona fide leading men of the Broadway musical and global celebrity on television" and a "versatile stage and film actor".
Jennifer Grey is an American actress. She made her acting debut with the film Reckless (1984), and had her breakthrough with the teen comedy film Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986). She subsequently earned worldwide fame for starring as Frances "Baby" Houseman in the romantic drama film Dirty Dancing (1987), which earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination. Her other feature films include Red Dawn (1984), The Cotton Club (1984), Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989), Bounce (2000), Redbelt (2008), The Wind Rises (2013), In Your Eyes (2014), Duck Duck Goose (2018), and Bittersweet Symphony (2019).
Dirty Dancing is a 1987 American romantic drama dance film written by Eleanor Bergstein, produced by Linda Gottlieb, and directed by Emile Ardolino. Starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, it tells the story of Frances "Baby" Houseman (Grey), a young woman who falls in love with dance instructor Johnny Castle (Swayze) at a vacation resort.
Bonnie Gail Franklin was an American actress. She is best known for her leading role as Ann Romano in the television series One Day at a Time (1975–1984). She was nominated for Emmy, Tony, and Golden Globe Awards.
Road House is a 1989 American action film directed by Rowdy Herrington and starring Patrick Swayze as a cooler at a newly refurbished roadside bar who protects a small town in Missouri from a corrupt businessman. Sam Elliott co-stars as a bouncer, the mentor, friend, and foil of Swayze's character. The cast also includes Kelly Lynch as Swayze's love interest and Ben Gazzara as the main antagonist. A direct sequel, Road House 2, was released in 2006. A remake of the film, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and directed by Doug Liman, is set to be released on Prime Video on March 21, 2024.
"She's Like the Wind" is a 1987 song by American actor and singer Patrick Swayze from the soundtrack to the film Dirty Dancing. The song features additional vocals from singer Wendy Fraser. The ballad reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Barbara Orbison was a German-born United States-based entrepreneur, music producer and publisher, and the second wife of American musician Roy Orbison.
Suzzanne Douglas was an American actress. She was best known for her role as matriarch Geraldine "Jerri" Peterson on The WB sitcom The Parent 'Hood, starring Robert Townsend, which originally ran from 1995 to 1999. Douglas also portrayed Amy Simms in the 1989 dance/drama film Tap alongside Gregory Hines and the legendary Sammy Davis Jr., for which she won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture.
Lynda Louise Day George is an American television and film actress whose career spanned three decades from the 1960s to the 1980s. She was a cast member on Mission: Impossible (1971–1973). She was also the wife of actor Christopher George.
One Last Dance is a 2003 American-Canadian romantic drama film about three dancers in New York City. The film was directed and written by Lisa Niemi, wife of actor Patrick Swayze. One Last Dance starred both Swayze and Niemi, who also jointly produced, alongside George de la Peña in a major role. It was filmed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Steel Dawn is a 1987 American post-apocalyptic science fiction action film directed by Lance Hool and starring Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi. The working title of the film, which mixes the genres of science fiction and western, was Desert Warrior.
Providence Saint John's Health Center, formerly St. Johns Hospital and Health Center, is a private not-for-profit, Roman Catholic hospital in Santa Monica, California, United States. The hospital was founded in 1942 by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. In 2014, the hospital was transferred to Providence Health & Services.
Vatalanib is a small molecule protein kinase inhibitor that inhibits angiogenesis. It is being studied as a possible treatment for several types of cancer, particularly cancer that is at an advanced stage or has not responded to chemotherapy. Vatalanib is orally active, which is to say it is effective when taken by mouth.
The Beast is an American crime drama series starring Patrick Swayze and Travis Fimmel. The series, which only ran for one season, debuted on A&E Network. It was Swayze's final acting performance before his death in 2009. Despite receiving largely positive reviews from critics, it garnered low Nielsen ratings and was cancelled in early June 2009.
Lisa Niles is a fictional character from the ABC soap opera General Hospital. The character first appeared in November 2009 portrayed by actress, Julie Mond. Mond was replaced by Brianna Brown in early 2010. Brown last appeared in the role in October 2011. The character is known for being a villain to popular characters Patrick Drake and Robin Scorpio.
Lisa Dickey, a native of Pensacola, Florida, is an American author and ghostwriter. Since 1997, she has worked on more than 20 nonfiction books, in fields ranging from technology to politics to Hollywood memoirs, including ten New York Times bestsellers. In January 2017, St. Martin's Press published her first non-collaborative book, Bears in the Streets: Three Journeys Across a Changing Russia.
Lisa Stahl, sometimes credited as Lisa Stahl-Sullivan is an American model, actress and game show host.
Yvonne Helen "Patsy" Swayze was an American film choreographer, dancer, and dance instructor, and the mother of actors Patrick Swayze and Don Swayze. Her credits include choreography for Urban Cowboy, Liar's Moon and Hope Floats.
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