Irene Cara, the singer-actress best known for starring in and belting the title tracks from the 1980s movies Fame and Flashdance, has died at the age of 63.
Cara died at her home in Florida, said her publicist, Judith Moose, who announced the news on Cara’s social media account on Saturday. She said a cause of death was “currently unknown.”
Irene’s family has asked for privacy as they deal with their bereavement, Moose wrote. She was a stunningly talented person whose films and songs will live on forever.
Cara was born in the Bronx district of New York City to a working-class Puerto Rican and Cuban family. Her acting credits as a young child included a regular role on the children’s program The Electric Company in the 1970s.
But it was Fame, the 1980 movie about a group of talented young hopefuls in New York trying to launch their careers in the cutthroat performing arts world that launched Cara to stardom. She sang on the title track that was nominated for an Academy Award for best original song.
Three years later, Cara co-wrote the lyrics for “Flashdance… What a Feeling,” another radio smash for which she received an Oscar for Best Original Song and a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female.
Cara influenced a future generation of artists. Broadway conductor and radio host Seth Rudetsky says watching Cara on screen as a kid helped shape his career ambitions.
