Irene Cara

Irene Cara Escalera (born March 18, 1959)[7][8][9][4][10] known professionally as Irene Cara, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. Cara sang and co-wrote the song "Flashdance... What a Feeling" (from the film Flashdance), for which she won an Academy Award for Best Original Song[11] and a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance[12] in 1984. Cara is also known for playing the role of Coco Hernandez in the 1980 film Fame, and for recording the film's title song "Fame". Prior to her success with Fame, Cara portrayed the title character Sparkle Williams in the original 1976 musical drama film Sparkle.

Irene Cara
Born	Irene Cara Escalera March 18, 1959[1][2][3][4][5] The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Singer songwriter actress
Known for	Sparkle Williams – Sparkle Coco Hernandez – Fame
Spouse(s)	Conrad Palmisano ​ ​ (m. 1986; div. 1991)​
Musical career
Genres	R&B pop disco
Instruments	Vocals keyboards
Years active	1968–present[3][6]
Labels	RSO Epic Geffen Elektra
Associated acts	The Electric Company/The Short Circus Diddy DJ BoBo
Website	irenecara.com

Early life

Cara was born in The Bronx, New York City, the youngest of five children.[13] Her father, Gaspar Escalera, a factory worker and retired saxophonist, was Afro-Puerto Rican,[13] and her mother, Louise, a movie theater usher, was Cuban-American. Cara has two sisters and two brothers. At the age of three, Irene Cara was one of five finalists for the "Little Miss America" pageant. She began to play the piano by ear, then studied music, acting, and dance seriously, first having dance lessons, aged five.[13] Her performing career started on Spanish-language television, professionally singing and dancing. She made early TV appearances on the Original Amateur Hour (singing in Spanish)[14] and Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show. In 1971–1972, aged 12, she was a regular on PBS's educational program The Electric Company, as a member of the show's band, The Short Circus.[13] As a child, Cara recorded a Latin-market Spanish-language record and an English Christmas album. She appeared in a major concert tribute to Duke Ellington that featured Stevie Wonder, Sammy Davis Jr., and Roberta Flack.

Career

Boggs describes Cara as a "perfectionist" who works on a song until absolutely satisfied with it.[6]

Ebony

Cara appeared in on-and off-Broadway theatrical shows including the musicals Ain't Misbehavin', The Me Nobody Knows (which won an Obie Award), Maggie Flynn opposite Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy, and Via Galactica with Raúl Juliá. Cara was the original Daisy Allen on the 1970s daytime serial Love of Life. Next came her role as Angela in romance/thriller Aaron Loves Angela, followed by her portrayal of the title character in Sparkle. Television brought Cara international acclaim for serious dramatic roles in two outstanding mini-series, Roots: The Next Generations and Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones. John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 28, named her one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1976"; that same year, a readers' poll in Right On! magazine named her Top Actress. Cara graduated from the Professional Children's School in Manhattan.

Fame (1980) and international acclaim

The 1980 hit movie Fame, directed by Alan Parker, catapulted Irene Cara to stardom. Cara was originally cast as a dancer, but when producers David Da Silva and Alan Marshall and screenwriter Christopher Gore heard her voice, they re-wrote the role of Coco Hernandez. As Coco Hernandez, she sang both the title song "Fame" and the film's other single, "Out Here on My Own." These songs helped make the film's soundtrack a chart-topping, multi-platinum album. Further history was made at the Academy Awards that year: it was the first time two songs from the same film were nominated in the same category and both sung by the same artist. Thus, Cara had the opportunity to be one of the few singers to perform more than one song at the Oscar ceremony; "Fame," written by Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford, won the award that year. Cara earned Grammy nominations in 1980 for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, as well as a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Musical. Billboard named her Top New Single Artist, while Cashbox Magazine awarded her both Most Promising Female Vocalist and Top Female Vocalist. Asked by Fame TV series' producers to reprise her role as Coco Hernandez, she declined so as to focus her attention on her recording career. As a result, Erica Gimpel assumed the role.

Post-Fame 1980–1999

Cara was slated to star in her own sitcom, Irene, on NBC in 1981. Even though the pilot aired and received favorable reviews, the network did not pick it up for its fall season. It also starred veteran performers Kaye Ballard and Teddy Wilson, as well as newcomers Julia Duffy and Keenen Ivory Wayans. In 1983, Cara appeared as herself in the film D.C. Cab, which is a film about a group of cabbies. The movie stars Mr. T. One of the characters, Tyrone, played by Charlie Barnett, is an obsessed Cara fan who decorated his Checker Cab as a shrine to her. Her contribution to the film's soundtrack, "The Dream (Hold on To Your Dream)" played over the closing credits of the film, and was a minor hit, peaking at No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1984.

In 1982, Cara earned the Image Award for Best Actress when she co-starred with Diahann Carroll and Rosalind Cash in the NBC Movie of the Week, Maya Angelou's Sister, Sister. Cara portrayed Myrlie Evers-Williams in the PBS TV movie about civil rights leader Medgar Evers, For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story; and earned an NAACP Image Award Best Actress nomination. She also appeared in 1982's Killing 'em Softly. In addition to her music and film work, Cara also continued to perform in live theater during this period. In the summer of 1980, she briefly played the role of Dorothy in The Wiz on tour, in a role that Stephanie Mills had first portrayed in the original Broadway production. Coincidentally, Cara and Mills had shared the stage together as children in the original 1968 Broadway musical Maggie Flynn, starring Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy, in which both young girls played Civil War orphans.

In 1983, Cara reached the peak of her music career with the title song for the movie Flashdance: "Flashdance... What A Feeling", which she co-wrote with Giorgio Moroder and Keith Forsey. Cara penned the lyrics to the song with Keith Forsey while riding in a car in New York heading to the studio to record it; Moroder composed the music. Cara admitted later that she was initially reluctant to work with Giorgio Moroder because she had no wish to invite further comparisons with another artist who worked with Moroder, Donna Summer.[15] But the collaboration paid off and became a hit in several countries, garnering numerous accolades for Cara. She won the 1983 Academy Award for Best Song (Oscar), 1984 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, 1984 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and American Music Awards for Best R&B Female Artist and Best Pop Single of the Year. Cara's Oscar win made her the first hispanic-black woman to win an Oscar in a category other than an acting category, as well as only the second to be nominated outside of an acting category. "Flashdance..." was re-recorded by Cara twice: in 1997 as a track in the original soundtrack for the British movie "The Full Monty"; the second time in 2002, as a duet with Swiss artist DJ BoBo.

In 1984, she was in the comedic thriller City Heat, co-starring opposite Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds and singing the standards "Embraceable You" and "Get Happy." She also co-wrote the theme song "City Heat", which was sung by the jazz vocalist Joe Williams. In May of that year she scored her final Top 40 hit with "Breakdance" going to No. 8. The follow up, "You Were Made for Me" reached No. 78 that summer but then she never charted on the Hot 100 again. In 1985, Cara co-starred with Tatum O'Neal in Certain Fury, an exploitation underachiever about two troubled young women who flee a court hearing and are mistaken for killers. In 1986, Cara appeared in the film Busted Up. She also provided the voice of Snow White in the unofficial sequel to Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Filmation's Happily Ever After, in 1993. That same year, she appeared as Mary Magdalene in a tour of Jesus Christ Superstar opposite Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson and Dennis DeYoung.

Along with her career in acting and hit singles, Cara released several albums: Anyone Can See in 1982, What a Feelin' in 1983, and Carasmatic in 1987, the most successful of these being What a Feelin. In 1985, she collaborated with the Hispanic charity supergroup Hermanos in the song "Cantaré, cantarás," in which she sang a solo segment with the Spanish opera singer Plácido Domingo.

Cara toured Europe and Asia throughout the 1990s, achieving several modest dance hits on European charts, but no US chart hits. She released a compilation of Eurodance singles in the mid to late 1990s entitled Precarious 90's.

Cara has also worked as a backup vocalist for Vicki Sue Robinson, Lou Reed, George Duke, Oleta Adams and Evelyn "Champagne" King.

21st century

In March 2004, Cara received two honors with an induction into the Ciboney Cafe's Hall of Fame and a Lifetime Achievement Award presented at the sixth annual Prestige Awards. In June 2005, Cara won the third round of 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 current all-female band, Hot Caramel. At the 2006 AFL Grand Final in Melbourne, Cara performed "Flashdance (What a Feeling)" as an opener to the pre-match entertainment.

In 2006, Cara contributed a dance single, titled "Forever My Love", to the compilation album titled Gay Happening Vol. 12.

As of 2016, Cara divided her residence between New Port Richey, Florida and Santa Fe, New Mexico. She works with her band Hot Caramel, which she formed in 1999.[16] Their album called Irene Cara Presents Hot Caramel was released on April 4, 2011. Cara appeared in season 2 of CMT's reality show Gone Country,.

On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Irene Cara among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.[17]

Personal life

Cara married stuntman and film director Conrad Palmisano (who was 15 years her senior) in Los Angeles, California in April 1986[18] and they divorced in 1991.[19]

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album	Peak chart positions					Record label
		US [20]	US R&B [20]	AUS [21]	CAN [22]	NLD [23]
1982	Anyone Can See	76	39	—	—	48	Network
1983	What a Feelin'	77	45	49	83	—	Geffen/Network
1987	Carasmatic	—	—	—	—	—	Elektra
2011	Irene Cara Presents Hot Caramel	—	—	—	—	—	CPM
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions										Certifications	Album
		US [20]	US R&B [20]	US Dan [20]	US A/C [20]	AUS [21]	CAN [22]	IRE [24]	NLD [23]	NZ [25]	UK [26]
1980	"Fame"	4	—	1	—	3	42	1	1	1	1	MC: Gold[27] BPI: Gold[28] NVPI: Gold[29]	Fame
	"Hot Lunch Jam"	—	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"Out Here on My Own"	19	—	—	20	41	—	—	—	—	58
1982	"Anyone Can See"	42	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Anyone Can See
	"My Baby (He's Something Else)"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1983	"Flashdance... What a Feeling"	1	2	1	4	1	1	2	17	1	2	RIAA: Gold[30] BPI: Silver[28] MC: 2× Platinum[27]	Flashdance / What a Feelin'
	"Why Me?"	13	41	7	—	5	23	—	—	24	86		What a Feelin'
	"The Dream (Hold on to Your Dream)"	37	65	26	—	84	—	—	—	—	—		D.C. Cab / What a Feelin'
1984	"Breakdance"	8	23	13	—	19	10	—	—	25	88		What a Feelin'
	"You Were Made for Me"	78	83	—	10	—	—	—	—	—	—
1987	"Girlfriends"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Carasmatic
2001	"What a Feeling" (with DJ BoBo)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Planet Colors
2004	"Downtown"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Downtown: A Street Tale
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Soundtrack appearances

Year	Album	Track(s)
1971	The Me Nobody Knows	"Black"
1980	Fame	"Fame", "Out Here on My Own", "Hot Lunch Jam", "I Sing the Body Electric"
1982	Killing 'em Softly	"City Nights"
1983	Flashdance	"Flashdance... What a Feeling"
1983	D.C. Cab	"The Dream (Hold On To Your Dream)"
1984	Going Bananas	"Going Bananas" (TV series theme song)
1984	City Heat	"Embraceable You", "Get Happy"
1985	Certain Fury	"Certain Fury"
1986	Busted Up	"Busted Up", "Dying For Your Love", "I Can't Help Feeling Empty", "She Works Hard For Her Money"
1986	The Longshot	"The Long Shot"
1989	All Dogs Go to Heaven	"Love Survives" (with Freddie Jackson)
1990	Happily Ever After	"Love is the Reason"
1990	Caged in Paradiso	"Paradiso"
1990	China Cry	"No One But You"
1992	The Magic Voyage	"We'll Always Be Together"
1997	The Full Monty	"Flashdance... What a Feeling" (re-recording)
2004	Downtown: A Street Tale	"Downtown"

Vocal appearances on other albums

• 1986: The Brecker Brothers – Détente (background)
• 1987: Jimmy Maelen – Beats Workin'
• 1992: Stanley Turrentine – Home Again
• 2001: DJ BoBo – Planet Colors
• 2002: DJ BoBo – Celebration

Stage acting

• 1968: Maggie Flynn
• 1970: The Me Nobody Knows
• 1972: Via Galactica
• 1978: Ain't Misbehavin' (replaced by Charlayne Woodard during previews)
• 1979: Got Tu Go Disco
• 1980: The Wiz
• 1993: Jesus Christ Superstar
• 1996: What a Feeling!: The Rock & Pop Musicals in Concert

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Note
1970–71	Love of Life	Daisy Allen	Daytime drama
1971–72	The Electric Company	Iris	Band member of the Short Circus
1976	Kojak	Amy	Episode: "A Hair-Trigger Away"
1977	What's Happening!!	Maria	Episode: "Rerun Gets Married"
1979	Roots: The Next Generations	Bertha Palmer Haley	Miniseries (3 episodes)
1980	Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones	Alice Jefferson	Movie
1981	Irene	Irene Cannon	Sitcom pilot
1983	For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story	Myrlie Evers	American Playhouse movie
1988	Bustin' Loose	Herself	Episode: "What's a Nice Girl Like You...?"
1991	Gabriel's Fire	Celine Bird	Episode: "Birds Gotta Fly"
1992	Hearts Are Wild	Dorah	Episode 1.8

Film

Year	Title	Role	Note
1975	Aaron Loves Angela	Angela
1976	Sparkle	Sparkle Williams
1976	Apple Pie	Dancer
1980	Fame	Coco Hernandez
1982	Killing 'em Softly	Jane
1982	Sister, Sister	Sissy Lovejoy
1983	D.C. Cab	Herself
1984	City Heat	Ginny Lee
1985	Certain Fury	Tracy
1986	Busted Up	Simone Bird
1990	Caged in Paradiso	Eva
1990	Happily Ever After	Snow White	Voice role
1992	Beauty and the Beast	Beauty	Voice role
1992	The Magic Voyage	Marilyn	Voice role
1994	The Jungle King	Leonette	Voice role; direct-to-video
1995	Beyond Awareness to Action: Ending Abuse of Women	Herself/host	Documentary short
2004	Downtown: A Street Tale	Neighbor	Cameo

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1980	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical	Fame	Nominated
1983		Best Original Song	"Flashdance... What a Feeling" (shared with Giorgio Moroder and Keith Forsey)	Won
	Academy Awards	Best Original Song	"Flashdance... What a Feeling" (shared with Giorgio Moroder and Keith Forsey)	Won
1984	Grammy Awards	Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or A Television Special	Flashdance: Original Soundtrack (shared with other songwriters)	Won
		Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance	"Flashdance... What a Feeling"	Won

See also

• List of Puerto Ricans
• List of number-one hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. dance chart

References

1. Latino American Cinema: An Encyclopedia of Movies, Stars, Concepts, and Trends, By Scott L. Baugh (Irene Cara 1959-).Retrieved March 6, 2020.
2. Your Birthday, Your Card, By Robert Lee Camp (Irene Cara 3/18/1959).Retrieved March 6, 2020.
3. Dick Clark Interviews Irene Cara, American Bandstand, 1983.Retrieved March 6, 2020.
4. Hip Hop around the World: An Encyclopedia (2 volumes), edited by Melissa Ursula Dawn Goldsmith, Anthony J. Fonseca.Retrieved March 6, 2020.
5. "@Irene_Cara: Many thanks for the birthday wishes. Despite all the incorrect info on Wikipedia ( there is no T anywhere in my name and I'm 59 today) I wish you all to be safe and healthy. God Bless !". Twitter. March 18, 2020.
6. "Irene Cara:A Show Biz Veteran at Age 22". Ebony. Johnson Publishing Company. XXXVI (9): 88. July 1981. ISSN 0012-9011.
7. Bob McCann, Encyclopedia of Hispanic American Actresses in Film and Television, McFarland & Company, 2010, ISBN 978-0-7864-3790-0, p. 67.
8. Stange, Ellen Silver (March 10, 2016). New York State of Fame. Page Publishing Inc. ISBN 9781682890264 – via Google Books.
9. Hellmann, Paul T. (2009). Historical Gazetteer of the United States. ISBN 978-1135948597. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
10. "@Irene_Cara: Many thanks for the birthday wishes. Despite all the incorrect info on Wikipedia ( there is no T anywhere in my name and I'm 59 today) I wish you all to be safe and healthy. God Bless !". Twitter. March 18, 2020.
11. "The 56th Academy Awards | 1984". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
12. "Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance – Grammys Best Female Pop Vocal Performance". Awardsandshows.com.
13. Sheff, David (November 10, 1980). "After 16 Years in Showbiz, Irene Cara, 21, Gets Her Diploma in Movies with Fame". People. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
14. Irene Cara singing "Ola Ola Ola" on Ted Mack's "Amateur Hour"
15. "NewsBank InfoWeb". Infoweb.newsbank.com.
16. "Ready for an Encore". People. July 9, 2001. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
17. Rosen, Jody (June 25, 2019). "Here Are Hundreds More Artists Whose Tapes Were Destroyed in the UMG Fire". The New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
18. "Oscar-winning singer-actress Irene Cara married veteran stuntman Conrad Palmisano". United Press International. April 14, 1986. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
19. McCann, Bob (December 8, 2009). Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and television. McFarland. p. 68. ISBN 9780786458042. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
20. "US Charts > Irene Cara". Billboard. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
21. David Kent (1993). Australian Charts Book 1970—1992. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
22. "CAN Charts > Irene Cara". RPM. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
23. "NLD Charts > Irene Cara". MegaCharts. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
24. "IRE Charts Search > Irene Cara". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
25. "NZ Charts > Irene Cara". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
26. "UK Charts > Irene Cara". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
27. "CAN Certifications > Irene Cara". Music Canada. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
28. "UK Certified Awards Search > Irene Carra". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
29. "Goud/Platina – NVPI Audio" (To access, enter the search parameter "Irene Cara" and select "Search") (in Dutch). NVPI. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
30. "US Certifications > Irene Cara". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 23, 2019.

External links

• Official website
• Irene Cara at IMDb
• Irene Cara at the Internet Broadway Database
• Irene Cara at the Internet Off-Broadway Database