Irene Cara: Fame singer and actress dies aged 63

Fame and Flashdance vocalist Irene Cara has died astatine the property of 63.

The American vocalist and histrion was champion known for her rubric way successful the 1980 movie Fame, arsenic good arsenic co-writing and singing the smash deed Flashdance... What a Feeling, for which she won an Oscar and a Grammy.

She aboriginal starred successful films other Clint Eastwood and Tatum O'Neal.

Cara's publicist, who announced her death, said she died astatine location successful Florida but the origin is "currently unknown".

Born successful 1959 successful the Bronx, New York City, Cara was the youngest of 5 children and started her vocation connected Spanish-language TV. Her begetter was Puerto Rican and her mother, Cuban-American.

Having recorded euphony arsenic a child, some successful Spanish and English, she went connected to look successful a fig of on-and-off Broadway musicals.

But it was successful 1980 that Cara changeable to fame erstwhile she bagged the relation of Coco Hernandez - and sung Fame's rubric track.

Her show earned her a Best Actress information astatine the 1981 Golden Globe Awards.

Cara aboriginal co-wrote and sang the vocals for Flashdance… What A Feeling, from the 1983 blockbuster Flashdance, and won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance arsenic good arsenic an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Flashdance went connected to go the third-highest-grossing movie of 1983.

Judith A Moose, Cara's publicist, praised her arsenic a "beautifully talented psyche whose bequest volition unrecorded everlastingly done her euphony and films".

She besides said Cara had been moving connected forthcoming projects erstwhile she died, which she and the singer's manager present program to finish.

"She'd privation that," Ms Moose said of her lawsuit via her authoritative Twitter page.