Fame Actors You May Not Know Passed Away
By William Rodriguez
Coco Hernandez is the lead character in the 1980 "Fame" movie because she's the obvious star of the High School of Performing Arts, naturally gifted and motivated for a big entertainment career. She gets accepted into all three programs — drama, dance, and music — because she's just that good. Coco is central to the film's most memorable and electrifying scenes: the "Hot Lunch Jam" musical segment, the movie's title song as it fuels dancing in the streets, and she intimately belts, "Out Here on My Own."
The multitalented performer who played the multitalented Coco found stardom in real life. By the time she starred in "Fame" in 1980, Irene Cara had appeared on "The Electric Company" as a kid actor, and co-starred in the 1976 movie musical "Sparkle," according to the Washington Post. Other film roles followed, such as one in Clint Eastwood's "City Heat," but Cara had a nice run on the pop chart in the '80s. Her recording of the "Fame" song hit #4, "Breakdance" reached #8, and "Flashdance... What a Feeling" (the theme from "Flashdance") both topped the chart and won Cara an Oscar for best original song. Cara, according to People, died in November 2022 at her Florida home. Per TMZ, the cause of death was hypertension and high cholesterol. Cara was 63.
