‘Fame’ and ‘Flashdance’ singer-actor Irene Cara dies at 63
Irene Cara, the singer-actress who earned a reputation as both an actress but also a sex symbol, died Saturday after a lengthy battle with cancer. She was 63 years old.
The singer’s publicist, Cindy Herold, said Saturday that Cara died of heart failure at her ranch in Rancho Mirage, a suburb of Palm Springs, Calif.
Cara appeared in several major motion pictures, including Robert De Niro’s “Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Deer Hunter,” among others.
She also had a brief film career that included parts in “Sins of the Father,” “The Bad and the Beautiful,” “The Horse Whisperer” and “American Gigolo.”
Irene Cara is seen making out with her longtime love, Tom Cruise, during a romantic encounter in front of a sign for a Hollywood Walk of Fame award during their film “The Horse Whisperer,” a 1995 film. Cara and co-star Tom Cruise will both die at 63
A publicist for Cara confirmed in an email to The Associated Press that she died Saturday.
She had been ill for months and had been confined to a hospital in recent weeks.
A star of “Flashdance” and “Fame,” Cara was also known for her roles in the ’80s and ’90s sitcoms “Sister, Sister” and “Hotel.”
Cara was featured in the September issue of Vogue, along with fellow celebrities like Elton John and George Clooney.
‘I feel so lucky’
“Irene Cara was a consummate professional and she is remembered by all her peers and fans alike as one of Hollywood’s most talented and versatile actresses and a true legend as one of the world’s most memorable and iconic sex symbols,” Vogue editor Anna Wintour wrote of Cara
