A life of ‘Fame’ & fortune

’80s icon Cara dies

To quote a legendary lyric from her most famous anthem: “I’m gonna live forever — baby, remember my name.”

Irene Cara, the iconic ’80s singer and actress best known for the soundtrack hits to the films “Flashdance” and “Fame,” has died. She was 63.

Cara’s publicist announced the native New Yorker’s death Saturday morning, saying in a statement she died in her Florida home. The cause of death is unknown.

“She was a beautifully gifted soul whose legacy will live forever through her music and films,” the statement from rep Judith Moore read.

“I don’t mean to sound immodest — but I’d never had any doubt that I’d be successful, nor any fear of success,” the artist born Irene Cara Escalera in The Bronx on March 18, 1959, to a Puerto Rican father and Cuban-American mother, told Cosmopolitan magazine in 1985. “I was raised as a little goddess who was told she would be a star.”

Cara’s top hits were “Fame” in 1980 and 1983’s “Flashdance . . . What a Feeling,” the latter for which she won an Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance.

“Flashdance” star Jennifer Beals was among the first to pay tribute to Cara’s talent.

“Thank you brilliant Irene for your open heart and your fearless triple threat talent,” Beals, 58, posted to Instagram. “It took a beautiful dreamer to write and perform the soundtracks for those who dare to dream.”

Besides singing the title track in “Fame,” Cara starred in the role of Coco Hernandez, and the song helped make the film’s soundtrack a multiplatinum album. She was nominated for two Grammys following “Fame,” for Best Female Pop Vocal Artist and Best New Artist.

“Fame” co-star and famed choreographer Debbie Allen, 72, also paid homage.

“My Heart is Broken,” she wrote. “#IreneCara was such a gifted and beautiful genius.”

Funeral services are pending and the memorial for her fans will be planned at a future date.

Cara launched her career as a child star in the Little Miss America Pageant, followed by a breakout appearance as an 8-year-old on “Ted Mack Amateur Hour.”

“I didn’t get where I am because of looks,” she told Ebony magazine in 1981. “I’ve done it on talent. I’ve never had to depend on my looks for anything. I haven’t sat around and tried to look pretty — I’ve worked my butt off !”