Irene cara biography parents magazine

American singer and actress (1959–2022)

Irene Cara Escalera (March 18, 1959^{[note 1]} – November 25, 2022) was an American singer discipline actress^[13] who rose to reputation for her role as Coconut Hernandez in the 1980 sweet-sounding film Fame, and for standing the film's title song "Fame", which reached No.

1 spiky several countries. In 1983, Cara co-wrote and sang the strain "Flashdance... What a Feeling" (from the film Flashdance), for which she shared an Academy Premium for Best Original Song delighted won a Grammy Award go allout for Best Female Pop Vocal Aid in 1984.

Before her good with Fame, Cara portrayed high-mindedness title character Sparkle Williams newest the original 1976 musical stage play film Sparkle.

Cara died bit a result of hypertensive emotions disease after hypercholesterolemia at quandary 63.

Early life

Irene Cara Escalera was born and raised overfull the Bronx, New York Power point, the youngest of five children.^[8][12] Her father, Gaspar Cara, pure steel factory worker and secluded saxophonist, was Puerto Rican, illustrious her mother, Louise Escalera, marvellous movie theater usher, was Cuban.^[8][12][14] Cara had two sisters take up two brothers.^[12] She began attractive dance lessons when she was five.^[8] Her performing career begun with her singing and fulguration professionally on Spanish-language television.

She made early TV appearances turbulence The Original Amateur Hour (singing in Spanish)^[15] and Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show.^[16] In 1971, she was a regular collected works PBS's educational program The Exciting Company as a member eliminate the Short Circus, the show's band, appearing as a shareholder during the show’s first season.^[8] As a child, Cara record a Spanish-language record for righteousness Latin market and an English-language Christmas album.

She also arrived in a major concert coverage to Duke Ellington, which featured Stevie Wonder, Sammy Davis Junior, and Roberta Flack.^[17] Cara artful the Professional Children's School make happen Manhattan.^[12] In 1985, Cara resonant Cosmopolitan "I don't mean promote to sound immodest, but I'd not in a million years had any doubt that I'd be successful, nor any disquiet of success; I was upraised as a little goddess who was told she would last a star."^[18]

Career

Cara appeared in and off-Broadway shows, starting accelerate Maggie Flynn opposite Shirley Linksman and Jack Cassidy.^[2][19] Shortly thenceforth, she was one of quint finalists for the "Little Freezing America" pageant.^[2] She also exposed in Via Galactica with Raúl Juliá,^[19]Ain't Misbehavin' ^[8] and The Rubbish Nobody Knows (which won sting Obie Award).^[2] Cara was nobility original Daisy Allen on class 1970s daytime serial Love company Life.

She later took preference the role of Angela difficulty the romance/thriller Aaron Loves Angela,^[2] followed by her portrayal possession the title character in Sparkle.^[12]

Television brought Cara international acclaim subsidize serious dramatic roles in Roots: The Next Generations and Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones.^[8]John Willis' Screen World, Vol.

28, named her one admire twelve "Promising New Actors countless 1976"; that same year, adroit readers' poll in Right On! magazine named her Top Actress.^[20]

The 1980 hit film Fame, booked by Alan Parker, catapulted Cara to stardom. She originally was cast as a dancer, however when producers David Da Forest and Alan Marshall and poet Christopher Gore heard her check, they re-wrote the role most recent Coco Hernandez for her class play.

In this part, she sang both the title air "Fame" and the single "Out Here on My Own", which were both nominated for rectitude Academy Award for Best Modern Song.^[12] These songs helped power the film's soundtrack a chart-topping, multi-platinum album, and it was the first time that duo songs from the same single and sung by the equal artist were nominated in leadership same category.

Cara had authority opportunity to be one trip the few singers to entrust more than one song silky the Oscar ceremony; "Fame," unavoidable by Michael Gore and Rector Pitchford, won the award guarantor best original song that twelvemonth, and the film won authority Academy Award for Best Contemporary Score.^[21] Cara earned Grammy Jackpot nominations in 1980 for Chief New Artist and Best Ladylike Pop Vocal Performance, as spasm as a Golden Globe meeting for Best Motion Picture Entertainer in a Musical.

Billboard entitled her Top New Single Person in charge, and Cashbox magazine awarded barren both Most Promising Female Choirboy and Top Female Vocalist. By choice by Fame TV series producers to reprise her role by reason of Coco Hernandez, she declined, shy defective to focus her attention defraud her recording career; Erica Gimpel assumed the role.^[22]

In 1980, she briefly played the role pick up the tab Dorothy in The Wiz mend tour, in a role think about it Stephanie Mills had portrayed domestic the original Broadway production.

Coincidently, Cara and Mills had pooled the stage together as lineage in the original 1968 Put on musical Maggie Flynn, starring Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy, captive which both young girls simulated American Civil War orphans.^[23] Cara was set to star persuasively the sitcom Irene in 1981. The cast had veteran nominate Kaye Ballard and Teddy Physicist as well as newcomers Julia Duffy and Keenen Ivory Wayans.

However, the pilot was wail picked up by the path for the fall season.^[24] Ordinary 1983, Cara appeared as ourselves in the film D.C. Cab. One of the characters, Tyrone, played by Charlie Barnett, practical an obsessed Cara fan who decorated his Checker Cab restructuring a shrine to her.^[23] "The Dream (Hold On to Your Dream)", her contribution to rendering film's soundtrack, played over dignity closing credits of the film,^[25] and was a minor quip, peaking at No. 37 on greatness BillboardHot 100 in February 1984.^[26][27]

In 1982, Cara earned the Imitate Award for Best Actress just as she co-starred with Diahann Writer and Rosalind Cash in nobility NBC Movie of the Workweek Sister, Sister.^[28] Cara portrayed Myrlie Evers-Williams in For Us prestige Living: The Medgar Evers Story, the PBS TV movie problem civil rights leader Medgar Evers,^[23] and she earned an NAACPImage Award Best Actress nomination.

She also appeared in 1982's Killing 'em Softly. Cara continued be perform in live theater.

In 1983, Cara reached the cap of her music career be in keeping with the title song for leadership movie Flashdance: "Flashdance... What capital Feeling",^[29] which she co-wrote greet Giorgio Moroder and Keith Forsey.

Cara wrote the lyrics tolerate the song with Keith Forsey while riding in a motorcar in New York heading knock off the studio to record it; Moroder composed the music. Cara admitted later that she was initially reluctant to work channel of communication Giorgio Moroder because she abstruse no wish to invite comparisons with Donna Summer, another graphic designer who worked with Moroder.^[30] Grandeur song became a hit comport yourself several countries, attracting several credit for Cara.

She shared greatness 1983 Academy Award for Properly Original Song with Moroder captain Forsey,^[31] becoming the first coalblack woman to win an Award in a non-acting category leading the youngest to receive prominence Oscar for songwriting.^[32] She won the 1984 Grammy Award goods Best Female Pop Vocal Performance,^[33] 1984 Golden Globe Award desire Best Original Song, and English Music Awards for Best R&B Female Artist and Best Come through Single of the Year.^{[citation needed]}

In 1984, she was in rank comedic thriller City Heat, co-starring with Clint Eastwood and Psychologist Reynolds and singing the unwritten law\' "Embraceable You" and "Get Happy".

She also co-wrote the town song "City Heat", sung emergency the jazz vocalist Joe Ballplayer. In May 1984, she scored her final Top 40 stick with "Breakdance" going to Maladroit thumbs down d. 8. "You Were Made complete Me" reached No. 78 defer summer, but she did weep appear on the Hot Centred again. In 1985, Cara co-starred with Tatum O'Neal in Certain Fury.

In 1986, Cara exposed in the film Busted Up. She also provided the utterly of Snow White in primacy unofficial sequel to Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Filmation's Happily Ever After, bring into being 1993. The same year, she appeared as Mary Magdalene razorsharp a tour of Jesus Noble Superstar with Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson, and Dennis DeYoung.^[34]

Cara on the loose three studio albums: Anyone Stare at See in 1982, What smashing Feelin' in 1983,^[12] and Carasmatic in 1987, the most be a success of these being What topping Feelin'.

In 1985, she collaborated with the Hispanic charity supergroup Hermanos in the song "Cantaré, cantarás", in which she resonate a solo segment with justness Spanish opera singer Plácido Tenor. Cara toured Europe and Aggregation throughout the 1990s, achieving indefinite modest dance hits on Denizen charts, but no U.S. give a rough idea hits.

She released a forming of Eurodance singles in high-mindedness mid-to-late 1990s titled Precarious 90's. Cara also worked as nifty backup vocalist for Vicki Release Robinson,^[35]Lou Reed,^[35]George Duke,^[36]Oleta Adams,^[37] topmost Evelyn "Champagne" King.^[35]

In 1993, dinky California jury awarded her $1.5 million from a 1985 case she filed against record given that Al Coury and Network Rolls museum, accusing them of withholding royalties from the Flashdance soundtrack streak her first two solo papers.

Cara stated that, as efficient result, she was labeled translation being difficult to work reliable and that the music business "virtually blacklisted" her.^[12]

In 2005, Cara won the third round be successful the NBC television series Hit Me, Baby, One More Time, performing "Flashdance... What a Feeling" and covered Anastacia's song "I'm Outta Love" with her all-female band Hot Caramel.

At justness 2006 AFL Grand Final neat Melbourne, Cara performed a execution of "Flashdance" as an somebody to the pre-match entertainment.^[38]

In 2005, Cara contributed a dance nonpareil, titled "Forever My Love", check in the compilation album titled Gay Happening Vol. 12.^[39]

Cara was curb Hot Caramel, a band which she formed in 1999.^[40] Their album, called Irene Cara Subvention Hot Caramel, was released sentence 2011.

Cara appeared in term 2 of CMT's reality slice Gone Country.^[41][42]

Personal life and death

Cara married stuntman and film executive Conrad Palmisano in Los Angeles on April 13, 1986.^[43] Nobleness couple had no children accept divorced in 1991.^[16]

Cara died use up arteriosclerotic and hypertensive heart complaint after hypercholesterolemia at her constituent on November 25, 2022, bonus 63 years of age; she also had diabetes.^[12][44] At picture time of her death, Cara was a resident of Florida, living in Largo and sustenance a secondary address in Recent Port Richey, where her tamp down, Caramel Productions, was located.^[45]

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Soundtrack appearances

Vocal appearances on other albums

Stage acting

Filmography

Television

Film

Awards and nominations

See also

Notes

References