Lisa Niemi Bio
Lisa Niemi Swayze is an American writer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and director. A lifelong performer who trained with the Houston Ballet Dance Company, Lisa Niemi Swayze moved from classical dance into film, television and writing while maintaining a career marked by choreography, directing and memoir work. She wrote, directed and starred in the feature One Last Dance and has appeared in films including Steel Dawn and Beat Angel. She is widely known for her long marriage to actor and dancer Patrick Swayze and for her advocacy following his death from pancreatic cancer.
Early Life and Background
Lisa Anne Haapaniemi was born in Houston, Texas, the only daughter among six children of a Finnish American family. Her parents, Edmond Melvin Haapaniemi and Edna Karin Haapaniemi, worked respectively with the American Red Cross and as a registered nurse; Niemi Swayze has cited their professions as sources of early encouragement. She trained at and graduated from the Houston Ballet Dance Company in 1974, beginning a disciplined foundation in ballet and stage work that shaped her early career choices.
She adopted the stage surname Niemi in 1977, shortening her birth name Haapaniemi for professional use in theatre and dance. Niemi met Patrick Swayze at age 14 while at the Houston Ballet Dance Company; the pair married on June 12, 1975, and moved together to New York City to pursue dance careers before relocating to Los Angeles in the late 1970s. Her early life combined formal ballet training with practical experience in company work and touring, building the technical base she later applied to choreography and screen work.
Path to Celebrity
Niemi’s transition from concert dance to screen and stage roles evolved through partnership, collaboration and independent creative work. In the 1970s she pursued dance in New York City with Patrick Swayze; the couple later explored opportunities in Los Angeles while expanding into film and television. Niemi also developed original stage work, writing plays that toured and won critical recognition in regional theatre before being adapted for camera.
Her theatrical writing and choreography informed her screen projects, most notably the stage piece Without a Word, which preceded and inspired the film One Last Dance. Niemi’s path combined sustained performance training, authorship of stage material and collaboration with directors and fellow dancers, positioning her to direct and produce her own film work while sustaining a presence in television and supporting film roles.
Lisa Niemi Career
Early Career (1975–1986)
Niemi began her professional career after completing formal training at the Houston Ballet Dance Company and relocating with Patrick Swayze to New York in the mid-1970s. The couple pursued concert dance opportunities and moved to Los Angeles by the late 1970s, where Niemi expanded into on-camera work and collaborative projects. During this period she built experience in choreography, stage writing and performance, developing material that later moved into film development.
Her early screen appearances include supporting roles and television work that leveraged her dance background and stage presence. Niemi also ran several creative ventures with Patrick Swayze outside of performance, including business interests and equine management, while continuing to write and mount plays that garnered critical attention in regional theatre circuits.
Breakthrough (1987–2004)
The late 1980s and 1990s brought greater visibility through screen projects that paired Niemi with Patrick Swayze and through directing and television work. She co-starred with Swayze in the 1987 film Steel Dawn, a credited on-screen appearance that increased her profile in narrative film. Niemi moved into directing with the 1990 film Dance and regularly worked in television, including a recurring role as Carla Frost on the series Super Force across 23 episodes from 1990 to 1991.
Niemi’s most significant personal project from this period was One Last Dance, a feature she wrote, directed and starred in alongside Patrick Swayze. The film, released in 2003, grew from a stage play she had written nearly two decades earlier and reflected her combined experience as a choreographer and dramatist. Following One Last Dance, Niemi continued to act in independent features, including Beat Angel in 2004, while maintaining work behind the camera as a director and creative producer on smaller projects.
Notable Works and Milestones
Among Niemi’s signature works, One Last Dance stands as a defining project she authored, directed and led as a performer, adapted from her earlier play Without a Word which had earned regional critical awards. Her film appearances in Steel Dawn and Beat Angel mark notable screen credits across her career, while her television role on Super Force represents sustained genre television work. In addition to screen and stage milestones, Niemi published two memoirs—The Time of My Life in 2009 and Worth Fighting For in 2012—both of which became New York Times best sellers, establishing a parallel career as a memoirist and public figure.
Lisa Niemi Family
Lisa Niemi Swayze was born to Edmond Melvin Haapaniemi and Edna Karin Haapaniemi. She met Patrick Swayze during her training at the Houston Ballet Dance Company; the couple married on June 12, 1975, and remained together until Patrick Swayze’s death from pancreatic cancer on September 14, 2009. The Swayzes did not have children. In 2014 Niemi married Albert DePrisco, a jeweler, with whom she announced engagement in late 2013 and formalized the marriage in May 2014.
Personal Life
Outside of performance, Niemi has pursued a variety of personal and philanthropic interests. She maintained a homestead near the Angeles National Forest and managed horses, dogs and other animals; records indicate she also owned a large ranch property in New Mexico. A licensed pilot, Niemi flew Patrick Swayze to medical treatments during his illness. After his death she became a public advocate for pancreatic cancer research and served as Chief Ambassador of Hope for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
Niemi has continued to publish and speak about her life and career, releasing memoirs that recount her years as a dancer, partner and creative leader. She was made a Dame of the Royal Order of Francis I of the Two Sicilies, an honor recorded in public accounts. Niemi remains active in mentoring artists, producing and occasional directing while maintaining a presence in literary and advocacy arenas.