American singer and actress Irene Cara is dead. The performer of 1980s hits ‘Fame’ and ‘Flashdance… What a Feeling’ died at her home in Florida, according to her agent. The cause of death is still unknown and will be released later, according to a statement released Friday evening (local time) by agent Judith Moose on the artist’s website and in US media. The family is currently requesting privacy, Moose wrote, calling Cara a “wonderfully blessed soul whose legacy will forever live on in her music and films.” Cara was 63 years old.
Born in 1959 in the Bronx, New York, the artist appeared early on in US television and theater. After initial minor successes with “Sparkle – Der Weg zum Star” and in the miniseries “Roots”, she made her breakthrough in 1980 with the leading role of Coco in “Fame” and as the singer of the Oscar-winning title song.
For the hit “What a Feeling” from the music and dance film “Flashdance”, written together with Italo-Disco producer Giorgio Moroder and Keith Forsey, she won an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a Grammy Award. After that they didn’t get any more big hits, but in 2001 a new recording with DJ Bobo made it into the German charts.
