Irene Cara was known as the second ex-wife of Conrad Palmisano.

Irene Cara and Palmisano married in 1986 and the marriage ends up in divorce in 1991.

They met while filming Certain Fury (1985). They also worked together on Busted Up (1986), his second and last feature film as executive director.

Who Was Irene Cara?

Irene Cara Escalera was an American singer and actress. Cara sang and co-wrote the song “Flashdance… What a Feeling”, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1984.

At the age of three, Cara was one of five finalists for the “Little Miss America” pageant. She began to play the piano by ear, studied music, acting and dance seriously, and began taking dance lessons when she was five.

Her performing career started with her singing and dancing professionally on Spanish-language television.

She made early TV appearances on The Original Amateur Hour (singing in Spanish) and Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show.

Cara is also known for her role as Coco Hernandez in the 1980 film Fame, and for recording the film’s title song “Fame”.

Prior to her success with Fame, Cara portrayed the title character Sparkle Williams in the original 1976 musical drama film Sparkle.

In March 2004, Cara received two honors with an induction into the Ciboney Cafe’s Hall of Fame and a Lifetime Achievement Award presented at the sixth annual Prestige Awards.

As of 2016, Cara had residences in both New Port Richey, Florida, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Irene Cara died on November 25, 2022, at the age of 63.