We all experienced that a person BFF escalating up in the ’90s
— that one particular particular person we’d have late-evening mobile phone phone calls with,
gossip with about how strict our parents had been, coordinate outfits with.
And when you think about best mates in the ’90s compared to nowadays, you notice that a whole lot has adjusted,
but the fundamentals remain the exact same: you however expend late evenings on the cellphone with your BFF
and you even now gossip with her. You also nevertheless coordinate outfits but then faux it was a total accident.
Actually, factors aren’t all that diverse just after all. We’re just older and drink way extra wine.
Best buddies are the siblings we by no means had. Or possibly we did have siblings
but we just did not like them incredibly considerably. Although your siblings stole your favourite
toys and ran all around exterior with your schooling bra on your head (*cough* happened to a friend…),
your very best friend was the a single you’d make prank calls with, and the shoulder
to cry on when you caught your crush holding fingers with some other chick on the playground.
We would not be the place we are with no our finest buddies
— both equally again in the ’90s, and to this day, even nevertheless times might have adjusted a minor.
1. The Fights We Get Into
In the ’90s: Your BFF thoroughly promised to take treatment of your digital
pet while you have been away on trip, and then she permit it die. You could not glance at her the exact same after that.
Right now: Older people really do not actually battle anymore. Alternatively,
we depart passive-aggressive comments on Fb and purposely really do not like every single other’s Instagram posts.
2. How We Make Up Afterward
In the ’90s: This was the pre-smartphone era so getting by a combat
with your BFF usually associated passing her a observe in class, full
with plenty of frown faces, dotting the i’s with hearts so she realized how
unhappy you had been with no her, and ending it with “LYLAS” — “love you like a sis,”
for everyone who forgot how we made use of to abbreviate stuff.
Now: The peace offering usually requires a $12 Starbucks espresso consume and a smiling selfie of you two collectively to put the previous at the rear of you.
3. Friday Night Entertainment
In the ’90s: We’d head to the mall and acquire faux nose rings from Claire’s, ideal prior to sneaking into an R-rated film. We were so terrible.
Now: Who goes out any longer? Not us. Give us anything on Netflix to binge watch and a bottle or 12 of wine, and we’re good to go. Can you say FriYAY?
4. Playing Wingwoman
In the ’90s: Right after deciding who the like of your lifetime was employing
the almighty cootie catcher, you’d phase a operate-in throughout science course, although your BFF kept other ladies away.
These days: Just about every BFF is aware the way to aid you obtain lasting appreciate: spending 14 hrs trying to find him on Fb with practically nothing but his center identify.
5. Squad Targets
In the ’90s: In essence, lifetime was all about acquiring a few a lot more women as cool as you so you could fake to be the Spice Women.
Now: Well, the superior information is you only need one far more person to do the One Ladies dance,
but you’re not significantly of a people particular person these times, so your BFF is additional than plenty of.
From Dancing Queen to Mystery: What Made Cynthia Rhodes Leave the Spotlight
When Cynthia Rhodes wasn’t “Staying Alive” on the dance floor with John Travolta, she was “Dirty Dancing” with Patrick Swayze.
Rhodes, who will turn 67 in November 2023, had a great career with famous dance movies from the 1980s. However, she chose to step away from the spotlight at the height of her fame.
Keep reading to find out why this talented actress, singer, and dancer retired so early!
Cynthia Rhodes was born in Nashville, Tennessee. She started her acting career with a small role in the 1980 musical fantasy film **Xanadu**, which starred the late Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly.
Her role as Tina Tech, a dancer in the 1983 film **Flashdance**, led to a bigger part later that year as John Travolta’s love interest in **Staying Alive**, the sequel to **Saturday Night Fever**, directed by Sylvester Stallone.
In 1987, she played her most famous role as Penny Johnson, a dance instructor at a resort hotel in **Dirty Dancing**.
In her role as Penny, Cynthia Rhodes shows off her amazing dance skills with graceful and flashy Mambo moves alongside the late Patrick Swayze. She also shares some very emotional and heartbreaking scenes with him.
Rhodes described her character Penny as having an “edge.” Penny both charmed and shocked viewers as she dealt with a difficult storyline involving a botched illegal abortion.
The film includes a socially relevant subplot about reproductive rights, with Rhodes at the center of it all. This helped position the three lead characters—Swayze as Johnny, Jennifer Grey as Baby, and Rhodes as Penny—for stardom.
“She’s from South Philly and she’s had a rough life,” Rhodes said about her character. “She’s got a sweetness about her, but it’s hidden because she’s been through a lot, and she has sort of put up a wall.” Rhodes added, “In the end, I think she finally realizes that life does go on.”
Life went on for Cynthia Rhodes, but not in the way her fans hoped.
After training for ten hours a day to prepare for her role as Penny, Rhodes found dancing to be “really hard.” She shared, “That’s why I keep saying I’m never going to dance again. I’m tired of dancing. My bones are hurting, and my back hurts all the time.” She added, “Every time I say, ‘That’s it, I don’t want to dance anymore,’ I get another film. I’m not going to turn down work! I feel very fortunate to be in films that involve dancing. But I just want a chance to do some dramatic work without dancing. Just give me a straight acting part.”
In the same year that *Dirty Dancing* was released, the 31-year-old Rhodes, who had many role options and admirers, appeared in the music video for “Don’t Mean Nothing” by Richard Marx. He is also known for the song “Right Here Waiting,” which was famously written for Rhodes in 1989.
In 1989, Rhodes married the Grammy Award-winning singer Richard Marx, and the couple welcomed their first child, Brandon, in 1990. They later had two more sons, Lucas in 1992 and Jesse in 1994.
According to Marx, Rhodes, who had previously trained for the Olympics, decided to retire in 1990 to focus on raising their children. He mentioned that this choice was also due to the “intense physical pain” her dance moves caused her.
“I thought, ‘This won’t last; she’s definitely going to want to come back to work and do films.’ But she found fulfillment in being a mom that completely overshadowed any desire she had to make movies,” Marx, now 59, explained. “Even if you’re her biggest fan, as good as you think she was as a dancer, singer, or actress, you should see her as a mom.”
Rhodes, who began dancing at just three years old, found that she was much happier being a mom and giving her body the rest it needed.
“The thing was, I used to never be sore. In fact, I was a gymnast. Now it’s frustrating… I never used to stretch, but now I have to stretch before I dance. I love to dance, but if I never did it again, I wouldn’t be sorry,” Rhodes said.
Since then, she hasn’t looked back. The last time she appeared on screen was in the 1991 film *Curse of the Crystal Eye.*
The former Hollywood starlet divorced Marx in 2014, and he married MTV’s first Latina host, Daisy Fuentes, the following year.
As for her sons, all three are following in the footsteps of their famous parents. Brandon is now a music producer and singer, while Lucas has made a name for himself as a singer and actor, appearing in TV series like *The Chicago Code*, *The Mob Doctor*, *Chicago P.D.*, and *Parenthood*. The youngest son, Jesse, has joined a metal band and is working on his own music.
Dancing requires a high level of athleticism, so while we miss seeing Cynthia Rhodes, we completely understand why she chose to leave Hollywood.
What are your favorite films featuring her?
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