Frances "Baby" Houseman, portrayed by Jennifer Grey, is a 17-year-old privileged and intellectual vacationer at the Kellerman's resort in the summer of 1963 who undergoes a profound coming-of-age transformation. Initially perceived as an innocent, sheltered "daddy's girl" who plans to join the Peace Corps, she evolves into an independent woman through her romance with working-class dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) and her moral courage in helping friend Penny Johnson secure an illegal abortion.

Johnny Castle is the iconic protagonist of the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, portrayed by Patrick Swayze. He is a 24-year-old working-class dance instructor at a Catskill Mountains resort who falls in love with 17-year-old Frances "Baby" Houseman. Characterized as charismatic, talented, yet arrogant and reckless, Castle serves as a symbol of rebellion and freedom against the social class divides of the 1960s setting.