Irene Cara is dead. The singer and actress, best known for "Flashdance - What a Feeling", died at the age of 63 at her home in Florida. Nothing is known about the cause of death at this time.
Irene Cara became world famous with her title songs for "Fame" and "Flashdance", for the song "Flashdance - What a Feeling" she received an Oscar and two Grammys in 1984. The singer and actress has died at the age of 63. Cara was found dead at her home in Florida on Friday, her rep Judith Moose said. The cause of death is so far unknown.
"She was a wonderfully gifted soul whose legacy will live on forever through her music and films," Cara's spokeswoman said. "This is the absolute worst part of being an agent. I can't believe I have to write this, let alone publish the message," she added.
Irene Cara is best known for singing the theme song to the 1980s cult film Fame, about the triumphs and struggles of students at a performing arts high school in New York. The optimistic refrain "I'm gonna live forever, I'm gonna learn how to fly" has burned itself into the collective memory of the young generation of that time. "I'm gonna live forever" won an Oscar for best song. Cara played high school student Coco Hernandez in the film - the role was written especially for her after she was originally cast as a dancer.
Cara also co-wrote and performed the hit "Flashdance - What a Feeling" for the 1983 film of the same name about the life of an aspiring dancer. The tune, still a catchy tune to this day, earned her an Oscar for Best Original Song and two Grammys.
Irene Cara was trained in music, dance and singing as a child. As early as the 1970s, she appeared on stage and on television, including on the famous "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson. This helped her gain a foothold in US show business. Cara later appeared in the US comedy film DC Cab and in the action comedy City Heat and acted in several television shows. She has also appeared in theaters and musicals.
Her rep asked Cara's fans to share "their thoughts and memories." "I'll read them all - and know she'll be smiling from heaven. She loved her fans." Many of the fans mainly remembered their own youth when "Fame" stormed the cinemas. "On behalf of all the 80's teens who put on their leotards and leg warmers, danced to 'Fame' in front of the mirror and dreamed of one day enrolling in the High School of Performing Arts - Thank you Irene Cara," wrote a woman named Jo Lake. She added: "May you rest in peace".
