Flashdance and Fame singer Irene Cara dies aged 63
Irene Cara, the singer best known for the title tracks of Fame and Flashdance, has died aged 63.
Her publicist said she had died in her Florida home and that the cause of death was unknown.
Cara won an Oscar for the song Flashdance… What A Feeling from the 1980s hit movie Flashdance and has been an icon of her generation.
Irene Cara at the 1986 Academy Awards. Pic: Globe Photos/MediaPunch /IPX
“It is with profound sadness that on behalf of her family I announce the passing of Irene Cara”, said a statement on her website.
“She was a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films.”
Born in 1962 in New York City, Cara first dazzled audiences when she was just five years old.
Irene Cara appeared in 1980s movie Fame
She began her career singing and dancing on Spanish television performing with her fathers’ mambo band.
During her breakout role in the acclaimed 1980 musical Fame, she was signed to be a recording artist in her own right and went on to score her biggest hit in the 1983 film Flashdance.
Her performance in Flashdance garnered her an Academy Award for best original song – the first African American woman to win the coveted award since Hattie McDaniel in the 1939 classic Gone With The Wind.
Irene Cara performs on Solid Gold in 1984. Pic: AP
Cara became one of the most awarded artists of her generation, winning Grammies both as a vocalist and a songwriter.
She also appeared in films such as DC Cab and City Heat, as well as various television shows. She also performed in live theatre and musicals.
Entertainment
Rageh Omaar says he was ‘determined to finish presenting programme’ after becoming unwell live on air
Entertainment
Om Fahad: Iraqi social media influencer shot dead by gunman on motorbike who posed as food delivery rider – report
A well-known Iraqi social media influencer has reportedly been shot dead in her car by a gunman on a motorbike.
Om Fahad, whose real name is Ghufran Sawadi, was killed outside her home in Baghdad’s Zayouna district on Friday, according to the AFP news agency, citing security officials.
It appears the unidentified attacker pretended to be delivering food to the victim, one security source said.
Om Fahad, who has nearly half a million TikTok followers, became famous for posting light-hearted videos where she dances to Iraqi music.
Six days ago, she shared footage of herself driving in a car and also posing in front of a mirror. They have each been watched hundreds of thousands of times.
The influencer was sentenced to six months in prison in February last year for sharing videos that a court ruled contained “indecent speech that undermines modesty and public morality”.
A campaign was launched in 2023 by the Iraqi government to clamp down on social media content which broke the country’s “morals and traditions”.
The interior ministry set up a committee to look for “offensive” clips on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, with several influencers being arrested.
“This type of content is no less dangerous than organised crime,” the ministry declared in a promotional video which asked the public to help by reporting such content.
“It is one of the causes of the destruction of the Iraqi family and society.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Speaking last year, interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan argued the morality campaign has “nothing to do with freedom of expression”.
Read more:
Injuries after explosion at Iraq military base
UK soldiers ‘exposed’ to toxic chemical in Iraq must get answers
In 2018, gunmen in Baghdad shot dead Tara Fares, who was a model and influencer.
After years of war and sectarian conflict following the 2003 US invasion that overthrew dictator Saddam Hussein, Iraq has returned to some semblance of normality despite sporadic violence, political instability and corruption.
But civil liberties, particularly among women and sexual minorities, are still constrained in a conservative and male-dominated society.
R Kelly’s challenge against a 20-year sentence for child sex convictions has been quashed by an appeals court.
The singer was correctly sentenced to 20 years in prison, a Chicago court ruled on Friday.
He was convicted in 2022 on three charges of producing child sexual abuse images and three charges of enticement of minors for sex.
In his appeal, Kelly, 57, argued Illinois’ old statute of limitations – which required prosecution of child sex crime charges within 10 years – should have applied, rather than the current law permitting charges while an accuser is still alive.
The appeals court rejected this, labelling it an attempt by Kelly to elude the charges entirely after “employing a complex scheme to keep victims quiet”.
He also argued that charges involving one accuser should have been tried separately from the charges tied to three other accusers due to video evidence that became a focal point of the Chicago trial.
Prosecutors have said the video showed Kelly abusing a girl. The accuser, only identified as Jane, testified for the first time that she was 14 when the video was taken.
The three-judge panel from the appeals court noted jurors acquitted Kelly on seven of the 13 counts against him “even after viewing those abhorrent tapes”.
Read more on Sky News:
Newsreader ‘receiving medical care’ after on-screen behaviour worries fans
Actress Emma Stone says she ‘would like to be’ called by her real name
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
In a written statement, Kelly’s attorney Jennifer Bonjean said they plan to seek a US Supreme Court review of the decision and “pursue all of his appellate remedies until we free R Kelly”.
“We are disappointed in the ruling, but our fight is far from over,” she said.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Environment11 months agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports6 months agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Technology3 years ago
Game consoles were once banned in China. Now Chinese developers want a slice of the $49 billion pie
-
Politics2 years ago
Have the last few wobbly weeks seen a turning point for Johnson as PM?