Irene Cara Biography

Irene CaraIn an accomplishment that some see as rare in Hollywood today, actress and singer Irene Cara has successfully transitioned from theater to television to recording to film acting.Irene (full name Irene Clara Escalera) was born on March 18, 1959, in New York City. She started out in show business at the young age of five and her acting debut was in the Broadway musical Maggie Flynn starring Jack Cassidy and Shirley Jones. By the time Irene was ten years old, she had already made quite a name for herself in theater and on stage, both on and off Broadway.In television, her first break came with the relatively successful television series The Electric Company, which lasted from 1971 to 1977 and featured such actors and actresses as Bill Cosby, Rita Moreno, Morgan Freeman, Mel Brooks, and Jimmy Boyd. However, Irene's role as Iris, a member of the rock group The Short Circus, only lasted for the first season.As a teenager, Irene Cara appeared in several other television series and films, such as the film Sparkle in 1976, co-starring Philip Michael Thomas, Lonette McKee, and Dwan Smith. Cara also had a role in the TV series deemed Roots: The Next Generations, which starred Georg Stanford Brown, Olivia de Havilland, Henry Fonda, and Paul Koslo.However, her breakthrough film role was in 1980s motion picture Fame as Coco Hernandez, which garnered her critical acclaim and international stardom, and inspired an entire younger generation of actors. The film also starred Lee Curreri, Laura Dean, Antonia Franceschi, and Boyd Gaines.Irene also sang for Fame, both the title song and the second hit single, Out Here on My Own. Much attributed to Cara's talents, both songs received Oscar nominations. The resulting soundtrack was wildly popular and successful, and turned multi-platinum. Fame opened the door for Cara to enjoy both a singing and acting professional career, although most critics as well as fans agree that her music career became, overall, the more successful of the two.Her movies in the 1980s include Killing em Softly in 1982, with Nicholas Campbell and Barbara Cook; City Heat in 1984, which starred Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds; and Busted Up in 1986, with Paul Coufos and Stan Shaw.Cara's first full-length album, Anyone Can See, was released in 1982. Irene won an Oscar for her biggest hit, Flashdance What a Feeling in 1983, which she co-wrote. Irene went on to produce several more albums and hit singles, and was featured on various soundtracks, mostly for movies in which she starred or appeared.Irene Clara has been awarded and honored for her acting and singing work multiple times, receiving an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Grammy Awards, among multiple others.She was married only once, briefly, to Conrad E. Palmisano in 1986, until their divorce in 1991.