- Actress and singer Irene Cara, an Oscar and Grammy winner best known for the theme songs of “Fame” and “Flashdance” in the early ’80s, has died, her publicist said.
- She was 63.
- Cara died in her Florida home.
Irene Cara, the singer-actress best known for her performances in the 1980s films Fame and Flashdance’s title songs, has passed away. She was 63 years old.
Cara passed away at her Florida home, according to her publicist Judith Moose, who posted the news on Cara’s social media account on Saturday. She stated that the death’s cause was “currently unknown.”
“The family of Irene has sought privacy as they work through their grief,” said Moose. Through her songs and films, she leaves behind a legacy that will endure forever.
Cara was born into a Puerto Rican and Cuban household of the working class in the Bronx district of New York City. As a child actress, she appeared often on the 1970s children’s program The Electric Company.
But it was Fame, the 1980 film about a group of bright young New Yorkers attempting to break into the competitive performing arts industry, that propelled Cara to stardom. The title track she performed on was nominated for an Academy Award for best original song.
Co-star of Fame Laura Dean Koch recalled Cara as “A dynamic performer who could sing, dance, and act, exemplifying a triple threat. I looked up to Irene and longed to be like her.”
Three years later, Cara accepted the Academy Award for best original song for “Flashdance… What a Feeling” along with the songwriting team of Flashdance (1983) — music by Giorgio Moroder, lyrics by Keith Forsey and Cara — for which she performed the upbeat title song. In addition, she received two Grammys for her work on Flashdance.
Cara inspired artists of the following generation. Seth Rudetsky, a Broadway conductor and radio host, claims that watching the film Cara as a child influenced his professional goals.
“Irene Cara symbolized success in the arts and gave us so much joy, hope, and motivation to pursue a career in the arts,” he said.
Moose stated in a subsequent tweet that she and Cara had been working on “wonderful initiatives that would have made her and her fans ecstatic.”
“Her manager and I will do the tasks,” she stated. She would desire that.
