Patrick Swayze comes from a family full of performers and his family tree is well-documented going back a number of generations.
Film star Patrick Swayze was born in Houston, Texas on August 18th, 1952. The rest of the Swayze family include Patrick's 2 brothers, Don and Sean, and a sister, Vicki. Unfortunately, Vicki passed away in 1994. Don Swayze is also an actor, who has had a large number of smaller roles on TV and on the big screen.
His father, Jesse, died fairly young in1982 of a heart attack. His mother, Patsy, is a professional dance choreographer who has worked on many movies and also runs a dance school.
Though his professional career began off-screen in the Broadway production of Grease, he shot to stardom with his role in the movie Dirty Dancing. His second big hit was Ghost. His latest movie is called Powder Blue where he will co-star for the first time with his brother, Don. It's due to be released in 2008
If you are unfamiliar with the following ahnentafel chart numbering system, you can find details on reading the chart here.
1. Patrick Wayne Swayze – b.1952
2. Jessie Wayne Swayze – b.1925 d.1982
3. Patsy Yvonne Karnes – b.1927
4. Jesse Elijiah Swayze – b.1890 d.1925
5. Mamie Bell Johnson – b.1895
6. Victor Elliott Karnes – b.1901 d.1982
7. Gladys May Snell
8. James Wesley Swayze – b.1840 d.1893
9. Sarah Elizabeth McDonald – b.1851 d.1907
12. William Karnes – b.1873
13. Pearl Lovejoy – b.1875
16. Alexander Swayze – b.1801 d.1850
17. Amanda Littleton
24. Victor Karnes – b.1849 d.1928
25. Frances
26. Reason E. Lovejoy – b.1841 d.1934
27. Martha Lucinda Hornsby – b.1846 d.1934
32. James Swayze
33. Elizabeth Starke
48. C.P Karnes
49. Mary
52. Mabry Lovejoy
53. Evangeline Sanford
64. Samuel Swayze – b.1737
65. Elizabeth Putnam
66. Daniel Stark
128. Rev. Samuel Swayze – b.1712 d.1784
129. Hannah Horton
256. Judge Samuel Swayze
257. Penelope Horton b.1689
He married his wife Lisa Niemi on June 12, 1975. The couple are still married (as of 2008) but have no children of their own. They met when Lisa was a student at Patsy Swayze's dance school. Though Patrick does not have children, he is uncle to the kids of his brother Don and sister Vicki.
In early 2008, Mr. Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. At the time of this writing, he was optimistic about his treatment and doing well.
If you've seen the Swayze (or Swasey) name in your own family tree, you might want to visit the GenForum message board for this surname. Perhaps you and Patrick are cousins?
Sources:
Compiled from online databases at Ancestry.com and Genealogy.com, as well as the International Movie Database (IMDB).
