FRANCOISE HARDY,
1944-2024

French singer-actress-model Françoise Hardy, who rose to international fame in the 1960s, died yesterday (6/11) at the age of 80 after suffering for two decades with lymphatic and laryngeal cancer.

Hardy debuted on the French pop charts as a teenager with 1962's “Tous les Garcons et les Filles” (“All the Boys and Girls”) and found success both with her own material and interpretations of songs by Serge Gainsbourg and Leonard Cohen. She enjoyed a #1 U.K. hit in 1968 with Gainsbourg's "It Hurts To Say Goodbye."

Renowned for her beauty, Hardy modeled for Yves Saint Laurent and acted in numerous films, beginning with Castle in Sweden in 1963. Her most prominent role in an American movie was in John Frankenheimer’s 1966 Formula One-themed Grand Prix.

Hardy continued making music for the next five decades and also collaborated with such like-minded artists as Iggy Pop, Blur and Air. Despite frail health, she released her final album, Personne d’Autre, in 2018.

"Over in France, us beat diggers found some vintage stuff in Francoise Hardy records," Public Enemy's Chuck D wrote on X. Repose en paix, légende!