Irene Cara Escalera (March 18, 1959[note 1] – November 25, 2022) was an American singer and actress[13] who rose to prominence for her role as Coco Hernandez in the 1980 musical film Fame, and for recording the film's title song "Fame", which reached No. 1 in several countries. In 1983, Cara co-wrote and sang the song "Flashdance... What a Feeling" (from the film Flashdance), for which she shared an Academy Award for Best Original Song and won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1984.

Before her success with Fame, Cara portrayed the title character Sparkle Williams in the original 1976 musical drama film Sparkle. Cara died as a result of hypertensive heart disease after hypercholesterolemia at age 63.