Johnny Castle
The main male lead of the movie, Johnny is your quintessential popular bad boy, who immediately catches the eye of Baby when she is on vacation. He also works as a dance instructor at the resort, and is financially struggling, much to the opposite of Baby. He is also fiercely protective, as seen by his nurturing of his dance partner, Penny, when she gets pregnant.
Penny Johnson
Penny is Johnny’s dance partner at the resort that Baby’s family are vacationing at. She, like Johnny, is working class and is often treated badly due to this. She is seduced and impregnated by one of the wealthy waiters, who refuses to have anything to do with her after. Penny and Baby become close when Baby offers to pay for an abortion and takes over as Johnny’s dance partner.
Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman
The female protagonist of the film, Baby is a young sheltered 17-year old girl who’s life changes when on a family vacation. Baby becomes involved with the much older, Johnny Castle, and the two go on to dance together, with Baby taking over the role of his previous partner, Penny. Baby is shown to be kind, with a big heart, as she helps Penny through her difficult time, and comes to the defense of Johnny despite it creating friction with her parents.
Robbie Gould
He is the main antagonist of the movie, and is portrayed as a spoilt rich boy, who is currently at Yale Medical school whilst working as a waiter at the resort. He ends up getting Penny pregnant but neglects to help her during this time. He is very selfish and thinks of no one but himself, as made evident when he pretends to let Baby’s father think it was Johnny who got Penny pregnant.
Lisa Houseman
She is Baby's sister and they are portrayed as having a typical sister relationship. Lisa is used in the film as comic relief through her ditzy and care-free attitude. Her main focus for the duration of her stay is to find a boy. She become infatuated with Robbie and does everything to impress him, whether it be her looks or brains. Soon, Lisa discovers Robbie's selfish nature, and she learns that in life it is better to be yourself instead of trying to fake being someone you are not.
