Irene Cara

American entertainer, an accomplished singer, actress and composer with an 18-year career by age 25. Cara won a Golden Globe, an Oscar and a Grammy in 1984 for her hit song "Flashdance. . . . What a Feeling." Her films include "Fame," 1980 and "City Heat," 1984. The youngest of five kids of a Black-Puerto Rican dad and a Cuban-French mom, she was raised by a lower middle class family. Her father, whom she describes as a beautiful man, was a saxophone player. He recorded in Puerto Rico, but had trouble getting gigs in the states, forcing him to work in a factory. Her mother stayed at home in the Bronx to raise Cara's two half sisters and brothers, as well as take her to auditions. Cara helped pay her way through Lincoln Square Academy, an exclusive New York prep school. Groomed as a show business child, she was performing on Spanish television at age seven, and becoming Little Miss America when she was eight years old. The same year she made her Broadway debut in "Maggie Flynn," and landed a one-year stint on the television series "The Electric Company." Cara had two film roles at age 15 and in 1978, she starred in the original off-Broadway production "Ain't Misbehavin." One of her most acclaimed films was "Fame," 1980. Cara has a breathy, raw voice, with wide almond eyes. She is deeply religious, and has no exercise or diet regimen. Her career faded when she was mired in an eight-year legal battle against her former record company with a $10 million breach of contract lawsuit, filed in 1985. When the case went before a California jury in 1993, Cara was awarded $1.5 million, but the music industry had soured on her, due to rumors about drugs use and temperament. In 1991 she withdrew to San Francisco to heal her wounds from disillusionment as well as a split from her husband of five years, Conrad Palmisano. Working through bitterness and anger, she turned to work on her spiritual growth through hard lessons. In 1998 she moved to Florida to be near her aunt and mom, along with her two cats. By 2001, she was back to recording with new material and a new band, Caramel. She formed the six-member pop girl group in 1999 and is producing and financing their first album Link to Wikipedia biography