Cynthia was no newcomer to the movie scene by the time she starred as Patrick's character Johnny Castle's professional dance partner in Dirty Dancing. She had previously had supporting roles in several productions before taking the part of Penny Johnson, whose botched abortion is central to the plot.

It was a role she took seriously, with Cynthia revealing details of the challenging rehearsal process ahead of filming. "We started rehearsals about two weeks before we started the film and we rehearsed every day for about ten hours a day to make it look, like, that Patrick and I had been dancing together all of our lives… it was really hard… and that’s why I keep saying I’m never going to dance again."

Cynthia stayed true to her word, and after Dirty Dancing she focused on music after taking over as the lead singer for Animotion's third album. However, it was short lived and the band split not long after.

The actress only filmed one more movie after Dirty Dancing; Curse of the Crystal Eye was released in 1991.

By this time Cynthia was a wife and mother, and she made the decision to walk away from her Hollywood career to focus on raising her children out of the public eye. She was married to musician Richard Marx, who she met in 1983 while she was filming Staying Alive with John Travolta and he was working on the soundtrack.

After marrying in 1989 the couple welcomed three sons, Brandon, Lucas and Jesse.

Cynthia's husband Richard said that she had quit to take care of their children, and because dancing began to cause her "intense physical pain." However, he was convinced that she might one day change her mind.

"'This won’t last, she’s going to want to go back to work and make movies,' I thought. But she felt total happiness as a mom that trumped any feelings she had about making movies. No matter how much you love her as a dancer, singer, or actress, you should see her as a mom."