Fame’ and ‘Flashdance’ singer Irene Cara dies at 63

Irene Cara, a singer and actress who won an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and two Grammys, has died. She starred in and sang the title song from the hit movie "Fame" in 1980 and then sang "Flashdance... What a Feeling" from the hit movie "Flashdance" in 1983. She turned 63.

The news was posted on social media by her publicist, Judith A. Moose, who said that the cause of death was "currently unknown." Saturday, Moose also told a reporter from the Associated Press that the person had died. Cara died in Florida, where she lived. No one knew the exact date of her death.

"Irene's family has asked to be left alone while they deal with their sadness," Moose wrote. "She was a very talented person whose music and movies will keep her memory alive for all time."

Cara had three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 during her career. These were "Breakdance," "Out Here on My Own," "Fame," and "Flashdance... What a Feeling," which was No. 1 for six weeks. She wrote some of the most upbeat, joyful pop songs of the early 1980s.

On Saturday, many people paid tribute to Cara on social media. Deborah Cox said she was an inspiration, and Holly Robinson Peete said, "The insane combination of talent and beauty was overwhelming to me." This really hurts my heart."

In Alan Parker's "Fame," she and Debbie Allen, Paul McCrane, and Anne Meara played high school students in the performing arts. This is where she first became well-known. Cara played Coco Hernandez, a dancer who wants to get better and has to go through a lot of hard things, like a creepy naked photo shoot.

"How bright our spirits are when they shoot out into space depends on how much we helped make this world a bright place. "And I'm going to make a big difference!" she says in the movie.

Cara sang on the title song, "Remember my name/I'm going to live forever/I'm going to learn how to fly/I feel it coming together/People will see me and cry," which was nominated for an Academy Award for best original song. She also sang on "I Sing the Body Electric," "Hot Lunch Jam," and "Out Here on My Own."

Allen posted pictures of them together on Twitter on Saturday and called Cara "a gifted and beautiful genius." Her skill and music will always be remembered. Forever remember her name!"

Three years later, she and the people who wrote the lyrics and music for "Flashdance"—Giorgio Moroder for the music and Keith Forsey and Cara for the lyrics—won an Oscar for "Flashdance... What a Feeling."

In the movie, Jennifer Beals played a girl from a steel town who dances in a bar at night and wants to go to a well-known dance school. It had the hit song "Maniac" and the slow-burning theme song. In "Maniac," Beals' character jumped, spun, and stomped her feet.

“There aren’t enough words to express my love and my gratitude,” Cara told the Oscar crowd in her thanks. "And last but not least, a very special man who, I think, started it all for me many years ago. Alan Parker, I thank you wherever you are tonight."

The New York-born Cara began her career on Broadway, with small parts in short-lived shows, although a musical called “The Me Nobody Knows” ran over 300 performances. In the mid-1990s, she toured as Mary Magdalene in the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar." In 2012-2014, her songs were in a tour of the musical "Flashdance."

She also made the all-female band Irene Cara Presents Hot Caramel and released a double CD with the single "How Can I Make You Love Me." "Sparkle" and "D.C. Cab" are two movies she has been in.