Irene Cara, star of 1980s classics ‘Fame’ and ‘Flashdance,’ dead at 63

(Reuters) – Irene Cara, the Oscar- and Grammy-winning actress and singer-songwriter finest recognized for her work within the Eighties cult films “Flashdance” and “Fame,” has died, her publicist mentioned on Saturday.

Cara, 63, handed away at her Florida house, her publicist Judith Moose mentioned in an announcement posted on Twitter, and the reason for demise is at the moment unknown.

“She was an exquisite gifted soul whose legacy will reside eternally by way of her music and movies,” the assertion learn.

Cara’s profession in present enterprise started at an early age and spanned theater, tv, music and movie. The artist obtained her massive break in 1980 when she was solid to play Coco Hernandez within the iconic movie-musical “Fame,” which chronicled the vicissitudes of a bunch of New York Metropolis excessive schoolers.

The musical drama’s title track, sung by Cara, would go on to win an Academy Award for Finest Unique Tune and earned the artist two Grammy Awards nominations, amongst different recognitions.

Cara’s rise to Hollywood stardom continued within the following years. In 1983 she co-wrote and sang the title track for the blockbuster film “Flashdance,” which landed Cara the coveted Academy Award for Finest Unique Tune and have become one of many defining songs of the last decade.

Moose, the publicist, mentioned a memorial for Cara’s followers “can be deliberate at a future date,” and funeral companies for the artist are pending.

Tributes to Cara poured in on social media on Saturday.

“Irene Cara, you impressed me greater than you may ever know. Your songwriting and vocals created pure vitality that may by no means stop,” musician Lenny Kravitz mentioned on Twitter.

(Reporting by Maria Caspani; Modifying by Leslie Adler)