80’s pop icon and singer Irene Cara was found dead in her Florida home. Her publicist shared the news via Twitter on Saturday.
Irene Cara, the Oscar-winning singer of the title tracks to “Fame” and “Flashdance,” has died at age 63, her publicist announced late Friday.
Cara died in her Florida home of an undisclosed cause.
Her publicist confirmed her death to Eyewitness News.
“It is with profound sadness that on behalf of her family I announce the passing of Irene Cara,” publicist Judith A. Moose wrote.
Cara was trained in music, dance and acting as a child and appeared on stage and on television, including appearances on PBS and on Johnny Carson’s “The Tonight Show,” at a young age in the 1970s.
But she rocketed to fame when she was cast in the 1980 musical “Fame.” She was initially cast as a dancer but then had the role of Coco Hernandez written for her and she sang the title track.
She was nominated for two Grammys after “Fame,” for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Artist.
Cara won an Oscar in 1984 for the title track to the movie Flash Dance, ‘What a Feeling.’ The soundtrack for Flash Dance also earned Cara a shared Grammy for Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special.
Cara was catapulted to stardom in the 1980 hit film Fame where she performed the title track.