Singer-actress Irene Cara has died at age 63 in her Florida home, her publicist confirmed to Eyewitness News.

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Irene Cara, Oscar-winning singer of title tracks to 'Flashdance,' 'Fame' dies at 63, rep says
ByABC7.com staff via
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Saturday, November 26, 2022 4:16AM


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Irene Cara sang the title track to "Flashdance," the 1983 film starring Jennifer Beals as an aspiring dancer.
Irene Cara, the Oscar-winning singer of the title tracks to "Fame" and "Flashdance," has died at age 63, her publicist announced late Friday.

Cara died in her Florida home of an undisclosed cause.

Her publicist confirmed her death to Eyewitness News.

"It is with profound sadness that on behalf of her family I announce the passing of Irene Cara," publicist Judith A. Moose wrote.

Cara was trained in music, dance and acting as a child and appeared on stage and on television, including appearances on PBS and on Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show," at a young age in the 1970s.

But she rocketed to fame when she was cast in the 1980 musical "Fame." She was initially cast as a dancer but then had the role of Coco Hernandez written for her and she sang the title track.

She was nominated for two Grammys after "Fame," for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Artist.

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Actress Irene Cara poses during an interview in Los Angeles, on July 2, 1990.
AP Photo/Nick Ut
She then won a Grammy and an Academy Award in 1984 with the title track to "Flashdance," the film starring Jennifer Beals as an aspiring dancer.

She continued on with her dual career in acting and music, appearing in films such as "D.C. Cab" and "City Heat" and various television shows. She also performed in live theater and musicals.

"Irene's family has requested privacy as they process their grief," Moose wrote. "She was a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films."

 

Duece

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R.I.P.

63 is so young and especially when you consider many of the roles we remember her for she was very young as Sparkle, Angela and Coco Hernandez so every vision of I have of her is of a teenager or very young woman.
 
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Duece

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kes1111

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Irene Cara Escalera (March 18, 1959 – November 25, 2022)[note 1] was an American singer and actress. Cara sang and co-wrote the song "Flashdance... What a Feeling" (from the film Flashdance), for which she won an Academy Award for Best Original Song[12] and a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance[13] in 1984. Cara is also known for playing the role of Coco Hernandez in the 1980 film Fame, and for recording the film's title song "Fame". Prior to her success with Fame, Cara portrayed the title character Sparkle Williams in the original 1976 musical drama film Sparkle.

Cara was born in The Bronx, New York City, the youngest of five children.[8] Her father, Gaspar Escalera, a factory worker and retired saxophonist, was Puerto Rican,[8] and her mother, Louise, a movie theater usher, was Cuban-American. Cara had two sisters and two brothers. At the age of three, Irene Cara was one of five finalists for the "Little Miss America" pageant. She began to play the piano by ear, then studied music, acting, and dance seriously, first having dance lessons, aged five.[8] Her performing career started on Spanish-language television, professionally singing and dancing. She made early TV appearances on The Original Amateur Hour (singing in Spanish)[14] and Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show. In 1971–1972, she was a regular on PBS's educational program The Electric Company, as a member of the show's band, The Short Circus.[8] As a child, Cara recorded a Latin-market Spanish-language record and an English Christmas album. She appeared in a major concert tribute to Duke Ellington that featured Stevie Wonder, Sammy Davis Jr., and Roberta Flack.
 
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