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In Memoriam: Fallen Stars of 2022
The amusement satellite has mislaid an '80s icon.
Irene Cara, known for singing the joyful taxable songs to the cult philharmonic films Fame and Flashdance, has died. she was 63.
Her publicist, Judith A. Moose, announced the star's death on Twitter Nov. 25. "It is with profound sadness that connected behalf of the household I denote the passing of Irene Cara. The Academy Award winning actress, singer, songwriter, and shaper passed distant successful her Florida home. Her origin of decease is presently chartless and volition beryllium released erstwhile accusation is available."
The connection continued, "Irene's household has requested privateness arsenic they process their grief. She was a beautifully talented psyche whose bequest volition unrecorded everlastingly done her euphony and films. Funeral services are pending and a memorial for her fans volition beryllium planned astatine a aboriginal date.'
Cara began her amusement vocation arsenic a kid singer. In the '70s, portion inactive precise young, she besides tried her manus arsenic an actress, appearing connected the soap opera Love of Life, the children's assortment amusement The Electric Company, the miniseries Roots: The Next Generations and later, arsenic a teen, arsenic the pb in the 1976 philharmonic movie Sparkle.
She besides appeared successful 4 Broadway musicals—Maggie Flynn, The Me Nobody Knows, Via Galactica and Got Tu Go Disco.
But it was the 1980 philharmonic play movie Fame that launched her to international, well, fame. The movie centered astir a performing arts precocious school, Cara played student Coco Hernandez and performed 4 songs, including the deed azygous "Fame," for the movie soundtrack.
The New York autochthonal went connected to co-write and execute the pb azygous "Flashdance... What a Feeling" for the soundtrack to the 1983 romantic play creation film Flashdance, starring Jennifer Beals as a dancer who aspires to go a nonrecreational ballerina. The opus earned Cara a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, and an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song.
In 1984, Cara co-starred with Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds successful the movie City Heat. Later, in the precocious '80s and aboriginal '90s, Cara did voiceover enactment for children's animated films, specified arsenic the movie Happily Ever After. Her past onscreen relation arsenic successful an occurrence of the TV bid Hearts Are Wild successful 1992.
Chad Buchanan/Getty Images
Cara besides continued her euphony career, and performed a screen of Petula Clark's deed "Downtown" for the soundtrack of the 2004 film Downtown: A Street Tale. In 2011, Cara released her last album, Irene Cara Presents Hot Caramel with her all-female band, Hot Caramel.
In a follow-up statement, her publicist tweeted, "We were moving connected astonishing projects that would person made her and her fans incredibly happy. Her manager and I volition decorativeness them. She'd privation that."
In caller years, Cara enjoyed what she called a "semi-retired" beingness successful Florida. "I merchantability my worldly online and astir of the clip I'm conscionable present with my family. And I'm precise arrogant of my family," the prima told SongwriterUniverse in 2018. "I person a beauteous location by the formation and beingness is good. I unrecorded disconnected my royalties and I enactment erstwhile I privation to."
Cara was preceded successful decease by 2 older brothers and her parents. "I'm conscionable blessed that I was capable to fulfill their dreams for maine earlier they passed away," she told SongwriterUniverse. "When you're 5 oregon six years old, you don't take a career. I wasn't a kid who decided, 'I privation to beryllium successful showbiz.' This was thing that was laid retired for maine by my parents. This was their imagination for me, and I fulfilled it. So I'm blessed astir that."
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