Reports citing Swayze's publicist said the 57-year-old heart-throb had died after suffering complications from the illness.

Fans of the actor were saddened to learn in March 2008 that Swayze was suffering from a particularly deadly form of cancer. He had kept working despite the diagnosis, putting together a memoir with his wife and shooting "The Beast," an A&E drama series for which he had already made the pilot.

It drew a respectable 1.3 million viewers when the 13 episodes ran on the cable television station in 2009, but A&E said it had reluctantly decided not to renew it for a second season. Swayze said he opted not to use painkilling drugs while making "The Beast" because they would have taken the edge off his performance.

He acknowledged that time might be running out given the grim nature of the disease. When he first went public with the illness, some reports gave him only weeks to live, but his doctor said his situation was "considerably more optimistic" than that.

Swayze was confined to a wheelchair last month as he left hospital following his ongoing treatment.

Since he was diagnosed he had been shuttling from his ranch in the state of New Mexico and his home in Los Angeles.

A romantic superstar with charm Patrick Swayze, whose smashing success in the 1987 movie "Dirty Dancing" turned him into a romantic and rebellious icon for millions of young American women was born in 1952 in Houston, Texas.

Swayze combined the macho, country-boy swagger with the dancing charm of an old-fashioned romantic hero to propel "Dirty Dancing" from a low budget, made-for-video flick into a box-office sensation that earned more than $300 million worldwide.

It was by far Swayze's greatest hit, but the actor kept working hard even through a debilitating battle with cancer.

As late as December 2008 he was refusing to take powerful painkillers so as not to blur the edge that he felt he needed to play the lead character in the TV series The Beast.

"When you're shooting you can't do drugs," he said on a US chat show. "What winning is to me is not giving up, is no matter what's thrown at me, I can take it, and I can keep going."

That mental toughness that helped the trained ballet dancer deal with the challenges of becoming an overnight sex symbol. In "Dirty Dancing", he played a dance teacher whose private mambo lessons to a teenage girl inevitably led to an erotically charged relationship.

But even as he retained a special place in American pop culture, most of his following projects sank into box-office oblivion, and Swayze sought refuge in the bottle.

He did experience several high points with Golden Globe nominations in 1990 for the box-office smash "Ghost", another romantic classic, and in 1995 for "To Won Foo", but he got an equal number of Razzie Awards for worst actor.

Determined to beat his alcohol addiction, he removed himself from Hollywood to the ranches he owned outside Los Angeles and near Las Vegas to raise thoroughbred horses.

Through it all, his wife, Lisa Niemi, was by his side. The couple had one of the strongest marriages in Hollywood. They met in 1970 when she was just 16 and took a dance class given by his mother. They married in 1975 and remained together until his death.

After conquering his addiction, Swayze returned to Hollywood in 2000 to film a small role in the cult classic Donnie Darko. But he really made a splash when he earned $5 million for a cameo appearance in a prequel to his greatest hit "Dirty Dancing - Havana Nights".

He was diagnosed with cancer in late January 2008 and was treated at the Stanford University Medical Centre outside San Francisco. His condition sparked a regular flurry of rumours of his imminent death, most of which he took with his customary grit and good humour.

"I am alive and plan on continuing to stay that way," he said in January 2009, after he denied reports that he had stopped treatment.

His Filmogarphy:

Powder Blue (2009)- Powder Blue is a 2009 drama film with an ensemble cast featuring several interconnected story arcs. It was written and directed by Timothy Linh Bui. This was Patrick Swayze's last movie role before his death.

The Beast (2009)- The Beast was an A&E television series starring Patrick Swayze and Travis Fimmel. It debuted on Thursday, January 15, 2009. On June 15, 2009, Entertainment Tonight announced that the show has been canceled due to Swayze's pancreatic cancer. It therefore came to be his final acting performance on screen.

Christmas in Wonderland (2007)- Christmas in Wonderland is a 2007 comedy film about three children who move with their father from Los Angeles to Edmonton, Alberta, where they catch a group of counterfeiters while Christmas shopping. The film was directed by James Orr, and stars Patrick Swayze, Matthew Knight, Preston Lacy, Chris Kattan and Carmen Electra.

Jump! (2007)- Jump! is a 2007 British-Austrian drama film written and directed by Joshua Sinclair. It starred Ben Silverstone, Patrick Swayze and Martine McCutcheon. It was loosely based on the real-life story of Philippe Halsman.

The Fox and the Hound 2 (2006)- This is a 2006 direct-to-video midquel to the 1981 Disney animated film The Fox and the Hound. It was produced by DisneyToon Studios, directed by Jim Kammerud, and features the voice talents of Patrick Swayze and Reba McEntire. The story of the film takes place during the youth of Tod and Copper, in which Copper is tempted to join a band of singing stray dogs.

Icon (2005)- Icon is a Hallmark Channel original television film directed by Charles Martin Smith and based on the novel by Frederick Forsyth. The film premiered on the network May 30, 2005. It is set in the period 1985 to 1999.

Keeping Mum (2005)- It's a 2005 British black comedy film starring Rowan Atkinson, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Maggie Smith. Swayze performed a minor role in the film.

King Solomon's Mines (2004) - This was loosely based on the novel King Solomon's Mines (1885) by H. Rider Haggard and previous film versions. Starring Patrick Swayze as Allan Quatermain and Alison Doody as Elizabeth Maitland, the film was produced by Hallmark Entertainment, and originally aired June 6, 2004 on Hallmark Channel.

One Last Dance (2003): is a movie about three dancers in New York City. It was directed by Lisa Niemi, wife of actor Patrick Swayze. It starred Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi.

Waking Up in Reno (2002)- This is a 2002 American comedy drama film directed by Jordan Brady. The screenplay by Brent Briscoe and Mark Fauser focuses on two redneck couples taking a road trip from Little Rock to Reno to see a monster truck rally.

Black Dog (1998) - This is a film about an ex-con manipulated into transporting illegal arms. The film stars Patrick Swayze, Randy Travis, and Meat Loaf.

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) - This was an American comedy film, starring Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, and John Leguizamo as three New York drag queens who embark on a road trip.

Tall Tale (1995) - Also known as Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventures of Pecos Bill is a 1995 family Western movie starring Patrick Swayze, Nick Stahl, Oliver Platt, Roger Aaron Brown, Scott Glenn, Catherine O'Hara, and Jared Harris.

North and South (1994)- It's an American television miniseries set before, during, and immediately after the American Civil War. It was based on the 1980s trilogy of novels North and South by John Jakes.

Father Hood (1993) - It's a comedy-drama film starring Patrick Swayze and Halle Berry and directed by Darrell Roodt.

City of Joy (1992) - A film directed by Roland Joffé, with a screenplay by Mark Medoff. It's based upon a novel by Dominique Lapierre.

Point Break (1991) - An action film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and starring Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze and Gary Busey. The title refers to the surfing term "point break".

Ghost (1990) - A romantic drama starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Tony Goldwyn and Whoopi Goldberg, written by Bruce Joel Rubin and directed by Jerry Zucker. It was nominated for multiple Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning for Best Original Screenplay, as well as Best Supporting Actress for Whoopi Goldberg.

Road House (1989) - It's an action film directed by Rowdy Herrington and starring Patrick Swayze as a bouncer at a seedy roadside bar who protects a small town in Missouri from a corrupt businessman.

Next of Kin (1989) - An action film directed by John Irvin and starring Patrick Swayze and Liam Neeson. The screenplay was based on a story of the same title, both written by Michael Jenning.

Steel Dawn (1987) - An American post-apocalyptic feature film, with elements of western science fiction. It starred Patrick Swayze, Lisa Niemi, Anthony Zerbe

Dirty Dancing (1987) - A romance film made in the United States. Written by Eleanor Bergstein and directed by Emile Ardolino, the film features Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze, Cynthia Rhodes, and Jerry Orbach.

North and South (1985)- The film is about the enduring friendship that develops between two young men that meet as cadets at West Point Military Academy in the 1840s.

North and South, Book II (1986): The sequel to North and South

Youngblood (1986): It is a 1986 American drama film, starring Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Cynthia Gibb, Keanu Reeves and Ed Lauter.

Grandview, U.S.A. (1984): IT is a 1984 comedy/drama film directed by Randal Kleiser. It stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Carole Cook, Ramon Bieri, John Cusack, Joan Cusack, M. Emmet Walsh, Michael Winslow, and Troy Donahue.

Red Dawn (1984): Red Dawn is a 1984 American war film directed and co-written by John Milius and also written by Kevin Reynolds. The film is set in an alternate timeline during the mid-1980s, and deals with an invasion of the United States by the Soviet Union and its Central American allies.

The Outsiders (1983): The Outsiders is a 1983 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, an adaptation of the 1967 novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton.

Uncommon Valor (1983): Uncommon Valor is a 1983 war film written by Joe Gayton and directed by Ted Kotcheff, about a Marine officer who tries to put together a team to rescue his son, who he believes is a prisoner of war being held in Laos after the Vietnam War.

Skatetown, U.S.A. (1979): The film is a 1979 American feature film directed by William A. Levey which capitalized on the popularity of roller disco.