Next came her role as Angela in romance thriller classic Aaron Loves Angela, followed by her portrayal of the title character in Sparkle.
The series also featured Bill Cosby, Rita Moreno, Morgan Freeman, Mel Brooks, Joan Rivers and Gene Wilder. By age 8, Cara recorded a Latin-market Spanish-language record an English Christmas album soon followed.įrom there, Cara appeared in on- and off-Broadway theatrical shows including the musical The Me Nobody Knows (which won an Obie award) and Maggie Flynn, opposite Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy.Īs a pre-teen, Her first national exposure was in the educational series The Electric Company, playing a member of the band The Short Circus. Her career started on Spanish-language television as a child, professionally singing and dancing. Irene soon moved into serious studies of music, acting, and dance. Irene first captivated the audiences of her family sometime after her fifth birthday when she began to play the piano by ear. Her correct date of birth is March 18th 1962. Cara disputes this and claims that she has never voted. Cara has never voted or registered to do so in Florida.
In July 2004 the Associated Press claimed to have found her voter registration record in Florida, where she lives. Her age has always been a confusing mystery by biographers who stated her birth year as either 1959 or 1964 from the day she shot to fame. Married Hollywood stuntman Conrad Palmisano in 1986.
Her mother Louise is of French and Cuban descent.
Her father Gaspar (died in 1994) is an Afro-Puerto Rican. She also starred in the 1980 film version of Fame. She is best known for her recordings of the songs Fame and Flashdance. This 2LP format also includes two radio edits and three extended mixes.Irene Cara (born on Main New York City, New York) is an American singer, Academy Award-winning songwriter and actress of African, Cuban and Puerto Rican descent.Ĭara won an Academy Award in 1984 in the category of Best Original Song for co-writing Flashdance.What a Feeling. The lead single, 'I Believe (In You) ', is released 25th June and it starts the four-month pre-release campaign, up until the album's release. The album now has a thread running through it, with a sequence that sees the album open with the beautiful title track and builds throughout the album through soul and dance, ending with the high-octane 'girl power' statement track, 'Leave Me Alone '. Junior Vasquez, Le Flex, Figo Sound, Jean Tonique, Ladies On Mars and Oliver Nelson - who has just signed to Atlantic Records - have all added their touch. 'I'M A RAINBOW - RECOVERED & RECOLOURED' has been slimmed-down to a compact 10-track album and completely re-imagined by a host of international producers, from North AND South America, Europe and Scandinavia. Fast-forward 40 years and 'I'M A RAINBOW' receives a fresh coat of paint, giving credence to the songs' great lyrics and compositions that they richly deserved at the time. "Flashdance" also included the ballad 'Lady, Lady, Lady' which was performed by original Brooklyn Dreams singer Joe "Bean" Esposito, who appears on the duet 'I Believe (In You)'. A few tracks were familiar to Donna and non-Donna fans, as they had been released in the early 1980s 'Highway Runner' ("Fast Times At Ridgemont High" OST) and 'Romeo' ("Flashdance" OST). 'I'M A RAINBOW' was eventually issued in 1996, as an 18-track CD, without the usual fanfare that heralded a 'new' Donna Summer album. David Geffen then brought-in Quincy Jones to produce the next new album 1982's 'Donna Summer'. A decision was taken by the label to withdraw 'I'M A RAINBOW' just prior to its release. The songs and their lyrical content were very strong and Donna's voice had never sounded better, which was always a tough comparison against previous albums. Geffen also wanted a more R&B-influenced album, despite the album having a more R&B feel than 'The Wanderer' had done. At the time that the album was being recorded, the musical landscape had changed and production techniques were developing further.
It's September 1981 and it's matter of weeks away from the release of 'I'M A RAINBOW', the second album Donna Summer had recorded for Geffen Records, which had also been produced by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte.