Lisa Niemi

Early life

Lisa Anne Haapaniemi was born in Houston, Texas, the only daughter of six children born to the Finnish American family of Edmond Melvin Haapaniemi, a Red Cross worker, and Edna Karin Haapaniemi (née Hyttinen), a registered nurse. Niemi has said her father and her mother's professions were her inspiration and encouragement. She graduated from the Houston Ballet Dance Company in 1974. She shortened her surname from Haapaniemi (meaning in English "Aspen Cape") to Niemi ("Cape") in 1977 for her theatre stage name.

Career

In the 1970s, Niemi and her husband Patrick pursued dance careers in New York City.

Films

Lisa Niemi Swayze wrote, directed and starred in the 2003 film One Last Dance alongside her husband. One Last Dance was based on Without a Word, a successful play written by Niemi 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."

She co-starred in Steel Dawn (1987) 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.

Television

Niemi co-starred as Carla Frost in 23 episodes of the TV series Super Force from 1990 to 1991. 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.

Books

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. On January 2, 2012, Niemi Swayze released another memoir, Worth Fighting For, which also became a New York Times Best Seller.

Personal life

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 married on June 12, 1975, 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. The Swayzes had no children.{{cite news | access-date=May 29, 2009 | archive-date=June 4, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604164342/http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/zap-patrickswayzecancer,0,6874651.story | url-status=dead

In 1985, Lisa Swayze began living on a 5 acre homestead near the Angeles National Forest, along with a "menagerie of dogs, prized Arabian horses and rodeo cattle". She also had a 20000 acre ranch in New Mexico.

She is a licensed pilot and flew Swayze to his cancer treatments prior to his death. While filming One Last Dance in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Niemi was made an honorary citizen of the city. 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.

On December 28, 2013, it was announced that she was engaged to Albert DePrisco, a jeweler. On May 25, 2014, the couple married.

Bibliography

• Swayze, Patrick; Niemi Swayze, Lisa: The Time of My Life. Atria Books, 2010.
• Niemi Swayze, Lisa: Worth Fighting For: Love, Loss, and Moving Forward. Atria Books, 2012.

References

References

1. (14 November 2011). "Lisa Niemi Swayze Bio".
2. [http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20424842,00.html "Lisa Niemi: 'I Miss Patrick So Much'"]. ''People''. September 20, 2010. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
3. Topelius, Paula. (2014-05-25). "Patrick Swayzen leski naimisiin".
4. link. (2012-10-06 . ''CNN''. September 14, 2009. Retrieved March 9, 2011.)
5. (2009). "The Time of My Life". Simon and Schuster.
6. Robertson, Campbell. (August 25, 2005). "Residents of Florida...". New York Times.
7. (2010). "One Last Dance". [[The New York Times]].
8. Mitovich, Matt. (August 26, 2005). "Patrick Swayze and His Wife Do a Dance". TV Guide.
9. Goodman, Walter. (2008). "Steel Dawn". [[The New York Times]].
10. (2012). "Dance". [[The New York Times]].
11. Stanley, Alessandra. "Super Force". New York Times.
12. Sauter, Michael. (December 3, 2003). "Super Force". Entertainment Weekly.
13. Schindehette, Susan. (August 6, 1990). "Ghost with the Most". People Magazine.
14. [http://www.webmd.com/cancer/pancreatic-cancer/features/lisa-niemi-healing-loss-patrick-swayze "Lisa Niemi: Healing From the Loss of Patrick Swayze"]. ''WebMD''. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
15. [https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Books/lisa-niemi-patrick-swayze-gma-time-life/story?id=8978301 "Patrick Swayze's Wife, Lisa Niemi: 'Lucky to Have Had Him'"]. ''ABC News''. November 3, 2009. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
16. Blas, Lorena. (March 6, 2008). "Patrick Swayze Battling a Deadly Form of Cancer". USA Today.
17. Tauber, Michelle. (March 24, 2008). "Fighting Together".
18. [http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/02/16/cancer.pancreatic/index.html "Patrick Swayze's widow urges more research funds for pancreatic cancer"]. ''CNN''. February 17, 2011. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
19. Wong, Marisa. (March 28, 2007). "Dirty Dancing...". People Magazine.
20. King, Randall. (March 10, 2001). "Swayze crazy about 'Peg".
21. (14 November 2011). "Official Bio of Lisa Niemi Swayze".
22. Jordan, Julie. (December 28, 2013). "Patrick Swayze's widow, Lisa Niemi, is engaged". People Magazine.
23. Messer, Lesley. (May 25, 2014). "Patrick Swayze's widow, Lisa Niemi, is married". ABC News.