Iconic singer and actress, Irene Cara, who cemented her presence in Hollywood after her smash hit Flashdance set new records in the entertainment industry is dead at 63.
It is unclear how the Fame star died, but her publicist confirmed on Twitter Saturday morning that she passed away at her home in Florida.
“This is the absolute worst part of being a publicist. I can’t believe I’ve had to write this, let alone release the news. Please share your thoughts and memories of Irene. I’ll be reading each and every one of them and know she’ll be smiling from Heaven. She adored her fans,” her publicist, Judith A Moose, wrote on Twitter.
The American entertainer won and Oscar and Grammy for her work on Fame and Flashdance and would later star opposite Clint Eastwood and Tatum O’Neal.
Born in the Bronx in 1959, Cara began her career on a Spanish-speaking television station. The youngest of five born to a Cuban American mother and Puerto Rican father, she would venture on to reach the pinnacles of success in on-and-off Broadway musicals.
Her big break came in 1980 when she was cast to star as Coco Hernandez in Fame and sung the film’s title track. Her performance earned her a Best Actress nomination at the 1981 Golden Globe Awards. Shortly after, she sang vocals for Flashdance, a hit song that won her a Grammy Award in the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance category and an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
According to Moose, she was working on upcoming projects right before she passed away. Her team is now working to complete the project on her behalf.
She was a “beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films,” her publicist said at the time of her passing.
