Irene Cara

Irene Cara was an American actress, songwriter, and Grammy Award-winning vocalist, best remembered for her international hits "Fame" and "Flashdance... What a Feeling." She was born in the Bronx borough of New York City on March 18, 1959, and began her singing career on Spanish-American television. Her first starring role came in 1976, when the 17 year-old Cara played the titular character in the cult film Sparkle. Although the movie was a box office disappointment, she found international fame four years later with Fame. Cara starred in the popular film and also sang its theme song, which reached Number 4 in the US while topping the charts in the UK, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. Several additional songs from Fame soundtrack featured Cara's vocals, including "Out Here On My Own," which became her second Top 20 single in America. Although her debut solo album, Anyone Can See, stalled at Number 73 on the Billboard 200 in 1982, she soon earned another major hit with "Flashdance... What a Feeling," the theme song to the 1983 film Flashdance. Co-written by Cara, "Flashdance... What a Feeling" went to Number 1 in five different countries, including the US, and won a Grammy Award for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance." Capitalizing on the song's success, Cara released the solo album What a Feelin' in November 1983, earning Top 20 hits with "Breakdance" and "Why Me?" After 1987's Carasmatic, she focused on her acting career for several decades, often touring the world along the way. Her final album, Irene Cara Presents Hot Caramel, was released in 2011. She died eleven years later on November 25, 2022, passing away in Largo, Florida, at 63 years old.