Patrick Swayze

Swayze was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Jesse Wayne Swayze and choreographer and ballet school owner Patricia Yvonne Helen Karnes. His brother, Don Swayze, is also an actor. Swayze attended Oak Forest Elementary School, Black Middle School, and Waltrip High School in Houston. There, he also lived in the Oak Forest area most of his life. Swayze formally trained at the Harkness and Joffrey Ballet Schools in New York City. Patrick Swayze has been married to Lisa Niemi since 1975. The couple has been together since Lisa, at 15, began dance lessons with Patsy Swayze, Patrick's mother.

The couple own a five-acre ranch in California called "Rancho Bizarro". His father died of alcohol-related issues, and Swayze attended a clinic to overcome his own alcoholism after his sister Vicky committed suicide in 1994 using pain killers. After initial recovery, he retreated to his ranches in California and New Mexico to breed Arabian horses. His best-known horse was the late Tammen, a chestnut Arabian stallion. He also became very spiritual, and is known for his faith in the healing power of crystals - his favorite colors include blue, teal, burgundy, earthtones and faded black.

Brought up Roman Catholic, is also a former Baptist, Buddhist, and Scientologist. A qualified pilot, in 2000 he was flying solo in his twin-engine Cessna from California to Las Vegas when it developed a mechanical problem. Swayze made a precautionary landing on a dirt road near a housing complex in Prescott Valley in northern Arizona. When local fire department and sheriff's department officials arrived they said the plane had a damaged wing, and they could find no one. It later emerged that Swayze had hitched a ride from a passing vehicle and was taken to a nearby house, where he telephoned the authorities.

Trailer Park Boys' Julian is sometimes called Patrick Swayze due to the very slight resemblance. In the episode "Conky', Julian resorts to destroying a puppet's head with his gun after the comment.