Actress and singer Irene Cara recently has died according to her publicist. She was 63.
Best known for theme songs “Flashdance” and “Fame”, the multitalented singer rose to fame in the 80s.
Her publicist, Judith Moose, encouraged social media users to share their thoughts and memories of Irene.
Moose also shared in the statement that Cara died in her Florida home and that the cause of death is still unknown.
As a youth, Cara appeared on TV’s “Electric Company” before acting as a teen in the movies “Aaron Loves Angela” and “Sparkle.”
Cara’s breakthrough came as Coco Hernandez in the 1980 musical “Fame,” about New York’s High School for the Performing Arts. She had a hit record with that movie’s title song, and another with the ballad “Out Here on My Own.” She was nominated for a Golden Globe and two Grammys that year.
Three years later, Cara co-wrote the lyrics for “Flashdance… What a Feeling,” another radio hit which she received an Oscar for Best Original Song and a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance.
She had other hits, including “Why Me” and “Breakdance.” She also acted in movies such as “City Heat” with Burt Reynolds and Clint Eastwood, “D.C. Cab” with Mr. T and “Certain Fury” with Tatum O’Neal.