Irene Cara Escalera (born March 18, 1959) is an actress and American singer. She sang and wrote, “Flashdance … What A Feeling” (from the movie “Flashdance”), which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1984. Her character is also known for playing Coco Hernandez in her 1980 movie “Fame” and recording the movie’s theme song “Fame”. Before success in her fame, Kara played the title character Sparkle Williams in the 1976 original musical drama movie Sparkle. Cara, the youngest of five children was born in the Bronx, New York City. Her father, Gaspar Escalera, a factory worker, and a retired saxophonist were Puerto Ricans, and her mother, a movie theater clerk, Louise, was a Cuban-American. The character has two sisters and two brothers. When she was three, Irene Cara was one of the five finalists in the Little Miss America campaign. She started playing the piano with her ears, she learned music, drama, and dance seriously at the age of five, and she took dance lessons.
Irene Cara Net Worth

Irene Cara is an American actress and singer with a net worth of $ 4 million. She was born in The Bronx, New York, and Irene Cara started making music before she went to school, and she soon added her acting and dance classes to her music education. She began her professional career in Spanish television, after which she became a regular on the Electric Company for children’s television. In the late 70s, she starred in the TV show Love of Life, as well as in several miniseries and Off-Broadway shows. In 1980, she was cast as Coco Hernandez, a hit movie fame, in a role that would bring her lasting fame. In addition to appearing in the movie, she recorded two songs for the soundtrack. Both have been nominated for Oscar. The title song “Fame” eventually won the championship. She won the 2nd Academy Award for her co-authored song “Flashdance. What a Feeling” for the movie “Flashdance”, among other awards. She is currently co-starring with Florida-based band Hot Caramel.
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Irene Cara Early Life
Her play career began on Spanish television, where she sang and danced professionally. She made her early television appearances on the Original Amateur Hour (singing in Spanish) and Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show. From 1971 to 1972, she was a member of the show band The Short Circus and a regular on the PBS educational program The Electric Company. As a kid, Cara recorded Spanish records and English Christmas albums for the Latin American market. She starred in major concerts in honor of Duke Ellington with Stevie Wonder, Sammy Davis Jr., and Roberta Flack. Chara will be on Broadway theater shows such as the musical “Stop Flirt”, the Obie Award-winning “Me Nobody Knows”, Maggie Flynn across from Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy, and Raul Julia on Galactica Street. I’m appearing. Cara was the first Daisy Allen in the 1970s daytime series Love of Life. This was followed by her role as Angela in Romantic / Thriller Aaron Loves Angela, followed by her portrayal of the title character in Sparkle. Television has internationally acclaimed Kara for playing her serious and dramatic role in the story of two outstanding miniseries, Roots: Next Generation and Guyana Tragedy: Jim Jones.
Irene Cara Career

Alan Parker’s hit 1980 movie “Fame” pushed Irene Cara to stardom. Her character was originally cast as a dancer, but when producers Davi da Silva and Alan Marshall and screenwriter Christopher Gore heard her voice, they played her role in Coco Hernandez. Has been rewritten. As Coco Hernandez, she sang both the title song “Fame” and the other single in the movie “Out Here on My Own”. These songs helped make the movie soundtrack a multi-platinum album at the top of the charts. That year, more history was made in Oscar. It was the first time that two songs from the same movie were nominated for the same category and both were sung by the same artist. Kara had the opportunity to be one of the few singers to sing multiple songs in Oscar. That year, “Fame” written by Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford won the award. Carla was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1980, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Film Actress for Musical. Billboard named her “Top New Single Artist” and Cashbox Magazine named her both “Most Promising Female Vocalist” and “Top Female Vocalist”.
Irene Cara Personal Life
Chara married film director Stuntman Conrad Palmisano in Los Angeles, California in April 1986, and divorced in 1991.
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