Oscar-winning singer and actress Irene Cara passes away at age 63
The ‘Fame’ and ‘Sparkle’ actress won an Oscar in 1984 for her hit “Flashdance… What a Feeling” from the movie ‘Flashdance.’
According to her manager, Irene Cara, an actress and pop diva who won an Oscar and a Grammy for the song “Flashdance… What a Feeling” from the movie Flashdance, had her own noteworthy screen appearances in films like Sparkle and Fame, has passed away. She was 63.
According to Judith Moose, who announced the news on Twitter on Friday night, Cara passed away in her Florida home. A cause of death has not yet been confirmed, according to Moose, who spoke with The Hollywood Reporter on Saturday.
“It is with profound sadness that on behalf of her family I announce the passing of Irene Cara,” Moose wrote in the statement. “Irene’s family has requested privacy as they process their grief. She was a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films.”
Cara is an uncommon talent who excelled as both an actress and a pop star, topping the charts in both fields. Her 1983 hit “Flashdance… What a Feeling” earned her the Grammy for best female pop vocal, performance, and she sang the title track for the seminal 1980 movie Fame.
She also starred in Fame, the dramatic music that chronicled the struggles of high school students in a performing arts school. Cara, who played Coco Hernandez, sang the title track and “Out Here on My Own,” which both became hit singles and were nominated for the Oscar for best original song, with “Fame” winning. The song’s success led to Cara getting nominated in 1980 for the Grammys for best new artist and best female pop vocal performance.
In the 1976 film Sparkle, about three singing sisters whose ties to their families are strained as they pursue success, she played one of her most well-known parts. Whitney Houston and Jordin Sparks participated in a 2012 remake of a movie, which served as her final appearance on a major motion picture before she passed away later that year.
Cara, born on March 18, 1959, in New York City, started singing and dancing at a young age and had early performances on shows like The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. She was a regular on The Electric Company on PBS in the 1970s and a part of the ensemble. She also played opposite Raul Julia in the Broadway musicals The Me Nobody Knows in 1970 and Via Galactica in 1972.
Cara later made an appearance on the CBS daytime soap Love of Life, where she originated the role of Daisy Allen. She followed this with the films Aaron Loves Angela (1975) and Sparkle (1976), along with roles in the television miniseries Roots: The Next Generations (1979) and Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones (1980).
After making a name for herself in Fame, Cara continued to work on stage, portraying Dorothy in a touring production of The Wiz in 1980. She appeared in a touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar in 1993.
For her work in the 1982 NBC television film Sister, Sister—written by Maya Angelou and starring Diahann Carroll, Rosalind Cash, and Cara—the NAACP Image Award for best actress went to Cara.
Cara’s lead single from the 1983 Flashdance soundtrack album, which spent two weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 chart and was certified six times platinum, was a huge hit. It won three Grammys, including one for the best soundtrack album for a movie or television special, which was given to all of the writers who were given credit, including Cara.
“Thank you brilliant Irene for your open heart and your fearless triple threat talent,” Flashdance star Jennifer Beals posted to Instagram on Saturday, along with a photo of the two of them at the 1984 Academy Awards ceremony. “It took a beautiful dreamer to write and perform the soundtracks for those who dare to dream.”
In addition, she voiced Snow White in the animated film Happily Ever After, Certain Fury (1985), and City Heat (1984), which starred Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds (1989).
The 1983 album What a Feelin’, which included the songs “Why Me?,” “The Dream (Hold on to Your Dream),” and “Breakdance,” were one of the many albums Cara self-released.
She expressed her gratitude to her now-deceased parents for being able to share in her achievement in an interview with Songwriter Universe in 2018. At the time, Cara remarked, “I’m just glad that I was able to realize their aspirations for me before they died away. “I didn’t determine I wanted to be in show business as a young child. Something like this was outlined to me by my parents. This was their dream for me, and I fulfilled it. So I’m happy about that.”