Connie Francis, the trailblazing pop icon whose timeless hits like Who's Sorry Now? and Pretty Little Baby transcended decades and borders, has died at the age of 87. Revered as one of the first female solo artists to top the Billboard Hot 100, Francis leaves behind a legacy that helped shape the sound of postwar pop music and inspired generations of performers around the world.
Connie Francis, the beloved pop star of the 1950s and 1960s and the first woman to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist, has died at the age of 87.
Her passing comes just two weeks after it was revealed that she had been hospitalized due to “extreme pain.” The news was confirmed early Thursday, July 17, by Ron Roberts, president of her label Concetta Records and a close friend of the singer.
“It is with a heavy heart and extreme sadness that I inform you of the passing of my dear friend Connie Francis last night,” Roberts wrote in a statement posted on Facebook. “I know that Connie would approve that her fans are among the first to learn of this sad news. More details will follow later.” The message was also shared on Francis’ official Facebook page.
Earlier this month, Francis had kept fans updated on her condition via social media. In a Fourth of July post, she shared she was “feeling much better after a good night,” though just two days earlier, on July 2, she had written that she was “back in hospital” undergoing tests to determine the cause of “extreme pain.”
Recently, Francis found herself back in the spotlight when her 1962 B-side track “Pretty Little Baby” became a viral hit on TikTok — more than six decades after its original release.
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