Irene Cara is best known as a singer of movie themes, though she has also maintained an acting career since childhood. Raised by Latin American parents in New York City, she made her Broadway debut in 1967 (at age eight) in the musical Maggie Flynn, and returned to the stage several years later with a role in the off-Broadway production The Me Nobody Knows. By the age of 16, she'd diversified her résumé with TV and film gigs, too, landing roles in the TV mini-series Roots 2 and in blaxploitation films like Aaron Loves Angela. In 1980, she officially catapulted herself into the mainstream with an appearance in the film Fame, for which she performed the title song, an Oscar-winning Top Ten hit. Also featured in the film was her Top 40 single "Out Here on My Own." Capitalizing on the movie's success, Cara released her debut album, Anyone Can See, in 1982.