Irene Cara, Oscar-winning singer dies at 63

Irene Cara, an American actress, and singer died at the age of 63. Her publicist Judith A. Moose announced the death news via Cara’s official Twitter account. The Oscar-winning performer passed away in her Miami, Florida, home. The cause of death has not yet been made public. 

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Judith A. Moose publicist to Irene Cara tweeted, “Irene’s family has requested privacy as they process their grief”. “She was a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films.”

  Moose’s also captioned the post and said that is the worst aspect of being a publicist. She is shocked that she even had to compose this letter and announce about the death.  She asked everyone to express their opinions and memories of Irene. I’m sure she’ll be grinning from Heaven as she reads them all. She loved having followers.

Cara was born in 1959 to a Cuban-American mother and a Puerto Rican father in the Bronx, New York City. She was the youngest of the five kids. 

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Before the 1980s, she had been in a number of Broadway musicals. However, she became well-known in the 1980 Alan Park teen musical film Fame. Her character, Coco Hernandez, was eventually rewritten after she was initially cast as a dancer. Her performance as Coco Hernandez was highly praised and she earned her first Golden Globe nomination for the role.  

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She co-wrote and also performed in the song Flashdance…What a Feeling from the romance dance movie Flashdance in 1983. Irene won her first and only Academy Award in category of Best Original Song. She received her first and only individual Grammy for this song in the category of Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

For nearly 20 years, Cara has not actively performed as an actor. Her most recent film, Downtown: A Street Tale, was released in 2004.  Her most recent studio album was 2011’s Irene Cara Presents Hot Caramel.