Listen to Patrick Swayze on Batanga

Swayze was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Patricia "Patsy" Yvonne Helen —a choreographer, dance instructor, and dancer—and Jesse Wayne Swayze, an engineering drafter. Until age 20, Swayze lived in the Oak Forest area, where he attended St. Rose of Lima Catholic School, Oak Forest Elementary School, Black Middle School, and Waltrip High School. During this time, he also pursued multiple artistic and athletic skills, such as ice skating, classical ballet, and acting in school plays. He studied gymnastics at nearby San Jacinto College for two years before leaving to tour with Disney on Ice in the lead role of Prince Charming. In 1972, he moved to New York City to complete his formal dance training at the Harkness and Joffrey ballet schools.

Swayze's first professional appearance was as a dancer for Disney on Parade. He starred as "Danny Zuko" in the Broadway production of Grease before his debut film role as "Ace" in Skatetown, U.S.A. (1979). Swayze became known to the filming industry after appearing in The Outsiders (1983), as the older brother of C. Thomas Howell and Rob Lowe His first major success was in the 1985 television miniseries North and South, which was set during the American Civil War.

His real breakthrough to stardom came with his performance as the dance instructor in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, alongside his Red Dawn costar, Jennifer Grey His earlier ballet experience came to good use in this film. Dirty Dancing was originally a low-budget project that was intended to be shown in theaters for one weekend only and then go straight to video, but it became a surprise hit and achieved massive international success. It was the first film to sell one million copies on video, and as of 2007, has earned over $US 300-million worldwide and spawned several alternate versions, ranging from a television series to stage productions to a computer game. Swayze received a Golden Globe Award nomination for the role and also sang one of the songs on the soundtrack, "She's Like the Wind," which he had originally co-written with Stacy Widelitz for the film Grandview, U.S.A. The song became a top ten hit and has been covered by other artists, such as David Hasselhoff and in 2006 was converted into a hip-hop version by Lumidee, who took it to the top of the charts in Germany.

After Dirty Dancing, Swayze found himself heavily typecast as beefcake and appeared in several flops, of which Road House (1989) was the most successful. His biggest hit came in 1990, when he starred in Ghost with Demi Mooreand Whoopi Goldberg. This role had considerable cultural impact, and modern hip-hop lyrics routinely use the phrase "I'm Swayze" (meaning "I'm ghost," which is in turn slang for "I'm leaving") in reference to that film. In 1991, he starred alongside Youngblood cast mate Keanu Reeves in another major action hit, Point Break, and was also chosen by People magazine as that year's "Sexiest Man Alive."

Swayze was seriously injured in 1996 while filming HBO's Letters from a Killer in the Ione area, when he fell from a horse and hit a tree. Both of his legs were broken and he suffered four detached tendons in his shoulder. Filming was suspended for two months, but the film finally aired in 1999. Swayze recovered from his injuries, but had trouble resuming his career until 2000, when he costarred in Waking Up in Reno, with Billy Bob Thorntonand Charlize Theron and in Forever Lulu, with Melanie Griffith

In 2001, he appeared in Donnie Darko, where he played a psychologist who was secretly a pedophile, and in 2004, he played Allan Quatermain in King Solomon's Mines. He also had a cameo appearance in the Dirty Dancing sequel, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004) as an unnamed dance instructor.

He made his London stage debut in the musical Guys and Dolls as Nathan Detroit on July 27, 2006 alongside Neil Jerzak, and remained in the role until November 25, 2006. His previous appearances on the Broadway stage had included productions of Goodtime Charley (1975) and Chicago (2003).

Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in late January 2008, and has been undergoing chemotherapy and other treatments at the Stanford University Medical Center. In late July 2008, six months after allegedly being given just weeks to live by medical experts, Swayze was seen in Los Angeles LAX airport appearing healthy. When asked about his condition, he told reporters "I'm cooking. I'm a miracle dude, I don't know why."