Yvonne Helen "Patsy" Swayze (née Karnes; February 7, 1927 – September 16, 2013) 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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Early life
Swayze grew up in Houston, the daughter of Gladys Mae Karnes (née Snell), a nurse, and Victor Elliott Karnes, a World War I pilot and geologist.
When she was 10 years old, Swayze was hit by a car and her mother enrolled her in dance classes for therapy. She eventually trained in both jazz and classical ballet.
While in high school, she met and married Jesse Wayne "Buddy" Swayze, a mechanical engineer. The couple had five children, including actors Patrick Swayze and Don Swayze. The family lived on Wakefield Street in the Garden Oaks neighborhood of Houston. They later moved to another home on Del Norte Street.
Career
In the 1960s, Swayze founded and directed both the Houston Jazz Ballet Company, and her own Houston dance studio, the Swayze School of Dance. All five of her children became dancers and actors, and Patsy's training has been credited for leading her son Patrick to his starring role in Dirty Dancing in 1987. Patrick met his future wife, film director and actress Lisa Niemi, while they were Patsy's students at the Swayze School of Dance.