Irene Cara, the star whose song “Flashdance… What a Feeling” won both an Oscar and a Grammy in 1984, has died of hypertension and high cholesterol, according to reports. Cara’s official cause of death was listed as arteriosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease in documents from the Pinellas County Medical Examiner’s office obtained by TMZ on Thursday.
Cara died at 63 on November 25 at her Florida home, her publicist confirmed at the time.
The New York native became a household name at age 20 after winning the role of Coco Hernandez in 1980’s Fame, for which she also performed the title track. Her song, “Fame,” won best original song at that season’s Academy Awards. Less than three years later, she won another Oscar for the song she co-wrote and performed for Flashdance. On January 26, her representative—who continues to battle skeptics who believe Cara’s death to be part of an elaborate hoax—said on Twitter that a public memorial was tentatively scheduled for March 18, or what would have been the singer’s 64th birthday.
