Patrick Swayze's Widow on His Wax Figure: 'It's Bittersweet'

Madame Tussauds' Hollywood outpost introduced its latest celebrity statue this week, honoring Patrick Swayze.

The late actor succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 2009 at age 57, but his widow, Lisa Niemi, was the picture of strength as she handled the unveiling duties with a broad smile and a sunny countenance.

"He had this kind of mischievous, but confident look ... and things like his core [were] very, very strong, and they worked on his arms more, so it's very detailed," Niemi, 55, told Access Hollywood on Tuesday.

"In a way, it's really wonderful and exciting and everyone's in such a good mood here, and it's gonna be so fun to have this figure in the museum here, and at the same time it's bittersweet," she said. "I wish he were here, really here."

Swayze's figure is based on a scene from "Dirty Dancing," in which his character gives Jennifer Grey's character a lesson about balance on a log in the woods. Niemi, a former professional dancer herself, struck a few poses alongside her husband's statue at the press event.

Speaking to People, she explained why she felt good about the pose that had been selected. "[It says] come and be fearless with me. Go out there on a limb. Just trust. Don't look down. Take a chance in whatever you do."

Niemi and Swayze were married in 1975, and remained husband and wife for 34 years.

Click through to see more photos of Lisa at Madame Tussauds, and of Lisa and Patrick together through the years.