Irene Cara, star of the films Fame and Flashdance, has died at the age of 63.
The American actress and singer was best known for the title track from the 1980 film Fame, as well as co-writing and performing the breakthrough hit Flashdance… What a Feeling, for which she received an Academy Award and a Grammy.
She later featured alongside Clint Eastwood and Tatum O’Neal in films.
Cara’s publicist, who confirmed her passing, stated that she died at home in Florida, but that the cause of her passing is “now unknown.”
Cara, the youngest of five children, was born in the Bronx in New York City in 1959. She began her career on Spanish-language television. Her mother was Cuban-American and her father was Puerto Rican.
Having recorded songs in Spanish and English as a child, she went on to perform in several off-Broadway musicals.
Cara rose to prominence in 1980, when she landed the role of Coco Hernandez and sang the film’s theme song.
Her performance garnered her a nomination for Best Actress at the 1981 Golden Globes.
Cara later co-wrote and recorded the vocals for Flashdance… What A Feeling, from the 1983 blockbuster Flashdance, received Grammy and Academy Awards for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Original Song, respectively.
Flashdance became the third highest-grossing movie of 1983.
Cara’s publicist, Judith A. Moose, lauded her as a “beautifully endowed soul whose legacy will live on in perpetuity through her music and films.”
She added that Cara was working on upcoming projects at the time of her death, which she and the singer’s manager want to complete.
Ms. Moose stated of her client via her official Twitter account, “She would want that.”
