Cynthia Rhodes is a retired American actress, singer and dancer. Her film roles include Tina Tech in Flashdance (1983), Jackie in Staying Alive (1983), officer Karen Thompson in Runaway (1984), and Penny in Dirty Dancing (1987). Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Rhodes began her show business career working at Opryland USA as a singer and dancer while attending Glencliff High School during the 1970s. Raised in a Baptist family, Rhodes tried to maintain a clean-cut image in her acting roles and in the media, turning down scripts that required nudity and refusing offers to pose for pictorials in Playboy magazine. Sylvester Stallone, the director of Staying Alive, stated that Rhodes "would sooner quit the business before doing anything to embarrass her parents."