Fame actress Irene Cara passes at 63

Cara
Irene Cara (March 18, 1959 – Nov. 25, 2022)

Oscar and Grammy winner, Irene Cara, an icon of the 80s best known for the theme songs of Fame and Flashdance in the early ’80s, has passed away. The actress and singer was 63.

Cara is also known for playing the role of Coco Hernandez in the 1980 film Fame, the story of a New York High School of Performing Arts. Prior to her success with Fame, Cara portrayed the title character Sparkle Williams in the original 1976 musical drama film Sparkle.

She died peacefully in her Florida home of an unknown cause.

Her publicist, Judith A. Moose, confirmed her death in a tweet. “It is with profound sadness that on behalf of her family I announce the passing of Irene Cara,” Moose wrote. “This is the absolute worst part of being a publicist. I can’t believe I’ve had to write this, let alone release the news. Please share your thoughts and memories of Irene. I’ll be reading each and every one of them and know she’ll be smiling from Heaven. She adored her fans.”

The youngest of five children, Cara was born in New York City to Cuban-American Louise, a movie theater usher and Gaspar Escalera, a factory worker and retired saxophonist who was a Black Puerto Rican.

Cara began her career singing and dancing on Spanish-language television. She made early TV appearances on The Tonight Show. From 1971–1972, Cara was a regular on PBS’s educational program The Electric Company, as a member of the show’s band, The Short Circus

As a child, Cara also appeared in a major concert tribute to Duke Ellington, featuring Stevie Wonder, Sammy Davis Jr., and Roberta Flack.

The 1980 hit film Fame, directed by Alan Parker, rocketed Cara to stardom. The Grammy-nominated title song earned Cara Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Artist. A Behind-the-Scenes story tells us that she was originally cast as a dancer, but when the producers heard her voice, they created the role of Coco Hernandez.


REELated:


She was the first Hispanic-black woman to win an Oscar in a category other than an acting category, as well as the second to be nominated outside an acting category.  Cara hit another record with the ballad Out Here on My Own.

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.

In 1984, Cara was in the comedic thriller City Heat, co-starring with Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds and singing Embraceable You and Get Happy. She also co-wrote the theme song City Heat, which was sung by the jazz vocalist Joe Williams.

In May of that year, she scored her final Top 40 hit with Breakdance going to No. 8. In 1985, Cara co-starred with Tatum O’Neal in Certain Fury, about two troubled young women who flee a court hearing and are mistaken for killers.

Cara also provided the voice of Snow White in the unofficial sequel to Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Filmation’s Happily Ever After, in 1993.


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Cara
Irene Cara (March 18, 1959 – Nov. 25, 2022)

Oscar and Grammy winner, Irene Cara, an icon of the 80s best known for the theme songs of Fame and Flashdance in the early ’80s, has passed away. The actress and singer was 63.

Cara is also known for playing the role of Coco Hernandez in the 1980 film Fame, the story of a New York High School of Performing Arts. Prior to her success with Fame, Cara portrayed the title character Sparkle Williams in the original 1976 musical drama film Sparkle.

She died peacefully in her Florida home of an unknown cause.

Her publicist, Judith A. Moose, confirmed her death in a tweet. “It is with profound sadness that on behalf of her family I announce the passing of Irene Cara,” Moose wrote. “This is the absolute worst part of being a publicist. I can’t believe I’ve had to write this, let alone release the news. Please share your thoughts and memories of Irene. I’ll be reading each and every one of them and know she’ll be smiling from Heaven. She adored her fans.”

The youngest of five children, Cara was born in New York City to Cuban-American Louise, a movie theater usher and Gaspar Escalera, a factory worker and retired saxophonist who was a Black Puerto Rican.

Cara began her career singing and dancing on Spanish-language television. She made early TV appearances on The Tonight Show. From 1971–1972, Cara was a regular on PBS’s educational program The Electric Company, as a member of the show’s band, The Short Circus

As a child, Cara also appeared in a major concert tribute to Duke Ellington, featuring Stevie Wonder, Sammy Davis Jr., and Roberta Flack.

The 1980 hit film Fame, directed by Alan Parker, rocketed Cara to stardom. The Grammy-nominated title song earned Cara Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Artist. A Behind-the-Scenes story tells us that she was originally cast as a dancer, but when the producers heard her voice, they created the role of Coco Hernandez.


REELated:


She was the first Hispanic-black woman to win an Oscar in a category other than an acting category, as well as the second to be nominated outside an acting category.  Cara hit another record with the ballad Out Here on My Own.

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.

In 1984, Cara was in the comedic thriller City Heat, co-starring with Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds and singing Embraceable You and Get Happy. She also co-wrote the theme song City Heat, which was sung by the jazz vocalist Joe Williams.

In May of that year, she scored her final Top 40 hit with Breakdance going to No. 8. In 1985, Cara co-starred with Tatum O’Neal in Certain Fury, about two troubled young women who flee a court hearing and are mistaken for killers.

Cara also provided the voice of Snow White in the unofficial sequel to Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Filmation’s Happily Ever After, in 1993.


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