Irene Cara, an Oscar and Grammy winner best known for the theme songs of Fame and Flash dance in the early 1980s, has died, according to her publicist. She was 63 years old.

In a tweet announcing the singer's death, Judith Moose said, Please share your thoughts and memories of Irene.I'll be reading them all, and I know she'll be smiling from Heaven. She adored her followers.

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According to Moose's statement, the cause of death is unknown.

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Cara began her career as a child actor on the TV show "Electric Company," before moving on to roles as a teen in the films "Aaron Loves Angela" and "Sparkle."

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Her breakthrough came in the 1980 musical "Fame," as Coco Hernandez, about New York's High School for the Performing Arts.

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She scored a success with the title song from that film and another with the ballad "Out Here on My Own." That year, she was nominated for a Golden Globe and two Grammys..

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Cara co-wrote the lyrics for "Flash dance... What a Feeling," another radio blockbuster for which she won an Oscar for Best Original Song and a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female three years later.

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Her other singles were "Why Me" and "Breakdance." She also appeared in films such as "City Heat," starring Burt Reynolds and Clint Eastwood, "D.C. Cab," starring Mr. T, and "Certain Fury," starring Tatum O'Neal.

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