What is Cynthia Rhodes's Net Worth?
Cynthia Rhodes is a retired actress, singer, and dancer who has a net worth of $9 million. Cynthia Rhodes is known for her roles in the '80s films "Flashdance," "Staying Alive," "Runaway," and "Dirty Dancing." She also appeared in some music videos as a dancer, including for Toto's "Rosanna" and Richard Marx's "Don't Mean Nothing." As a singer, Rhodes served as the lead vocalist of the synth-pop band Animotion from 1988 to 1990.
Early Life and Education
Cynthia Rhodes was born on November 21, 1956 in Nashville, Tennessee into a Baptist family. Her parents are Edna and Adrian. While a student at Glencliff High School, she began her career in show business by singing and dancing at Opryland USA.
(Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images)
Film Career
Rhodes made her feature film debut in 1980 as a dancer in the musical fantasy "Xanadu," starring Olivia Newton-John. She had her first credited role three years later in the romantic dance film "Flashdance," playing the role of Tina Tech, the friend of Jennifer Beals's main character Alex. A few months after that, Rhodes starred opposite John Travolta in the dance musical "Staying Alive," a sequel to the hit 1977 film "Saturday Night Fever." She also contributed to the songs "Finding Out the Hard Way" and "I'm Never Gonna Give You Up" on the film's soundtrack. In 1984, Rhodes appeared in her first non-dancing role in Michael Crichton's science-fiction thriller "Runaway." She starred as Officer Karen Thompson, with her costars being Tom Selleck, Gene Simmons, and Kirstie Alley.
After her rare non-dancing role in "Runaway," a film that performed poorly at the box office, Rhodes returned to her bailiwick to play dance instructor Penny Johnson in the 1987 romantic dance film "Dirty Dancing." Starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, "Dirty Dancing" was an enormous commercial hit, grossing around $214 million worldwide and spawning one of the best-selling albums of all time. Rhodes had her final film role in 1991, starring opposite Jameson Parker in the action adventure film "Curse of the Crystal Eye."
Music Video Appearances
In addition to her film roles, Rhodes has appeared in some music videos as a dancer. In 1982, she was in the video for Toto's song "Rosanna," and the same year, appeared in a long-form music video for the Tubes called "The Tubes Video." Rhodes subsequently appeared in the music video for the Bee Gees' "The Woman in You," which was featured in the film "Staying Alive." In 1988, she danced in the popular video for Richard Marx's debut single, "Don't Mean Nothing."
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Animotion
In 1988, Rhodes replaced Astrid Plane as the lead singer of the synth-pop band Animotion. The band went on to record its third studio album, featuring a cover of the Climie Fisher song "Room to Move." Bolstered by its use in the science-fiction comedy film "My Stepmother is an Alien," the song reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1989. However, the album it was on performed poorly, and Animotion disbanded in 1990.
Personal Life
In early 1989, Rhodes married singer-songwriter Richard Marx. The pair had first met six years earlier when Marx was working on the soundtrack album for the film "Staying Alive," but their age difference had prevented them from dating. They were later reacquainted at a party. With Marx, Rhodes had three sons in the early 1990s named Brandon, Lucas, and Jesse, prompting her to quit her acting career to focus on her family. All three sons went on to become musicians. In 2014, Rhodes and Marx divorced after 25 years of marriage. A year later Richard married MTV personality Daisy Fuentes.
Chicago Mansion
For many years Richard and Cynthia Rhodes owned an enormous property in the Chicago suburb of Lake Bluff. They bought the home in 1997 for $4.7 million. They listed it soon after divorcing for an impressive $18 million. The property is a gated, 5-acre compound and features a 30,000 square-foot lakefront mansion. Astonishingly, it took five years and several significant price chops before Richard and Cynthia finally accepted just $4.2 million. Here is a video tour:
