Connie Francis, the beloved pop singer and actress whose hits like “Lipstick on Your Collar” and “Who’s Sorry Now?” defined a generation of teens in the 1960s, has passed away at the age of 87. The news was confirmed in a heartfelt Facebook post by her longtime friend and publicist, Ron Roberts.
“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. “I know that Connie would approve that her fans are among the first to learn of this sad news.”
In recent weeks, Francis had been hospitalized for pain-related issues, which led her to cancel several scheduled appearances, as she had shared on her social media accounts.
Remarkably, the iconic singer had recently connected with a younger audience through a viral TikTok trend featuring her 1960 hit “Pretty Little Baby.” Francis herself joined the trend, posting a clip of her lip-syncing to the decades-old recording. “First time I’ve lip-synched to this 63-year-old recording of mine!” she wrote in the caption.
She also posted a thank-you video to stars like Timothée Chalamet, Ariana Grande, and Taylor Swift for their public tributes to her music.
Born Concetta Franconero in Newark, New Jersey, Francis got her big break as a teenager after winning first prize on Arthur Godfrey’s Startime Talent Scouts. Her regular appearances on the show eventually led to a recommendation from Godfrey to change her name to the more accessible “Connie Francis.”
Early in her career, Francis faced rejection from numerous record labels before finally signing with MGM in 1955. Her first single, “Freddy,” didn’t chart, and she considered quitting music altogether. However, at her father’s urging, she recorded a new version of the 1923 ballad “Who’s Sorry Now?”—a move that catapulted her into stardom.
A string of hits followed, including “My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own,” “Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You,” and “Lipstick on Your Collar.”
Francis also ventured into film, starring in Where the Boys Are, Follow the Boys (1963), Looking for Love (1964), and When the Boys Meet the Girls (1965). She later joked about the repetitive nature of her film titles, quipping in a 2017 interview, “I asked the studio why they couldn’t come up with a title without the word ‘boys’ in it! People knew it was another lame Connie Francis movie, and they stayed home. I was so pleased it was my last one.”
Though her professional success was substantial, Francis faced significant personal tragedies, often referring to the 1970s and 1980s as her “decade of tragedy.”
In 1974, she was the victim of a brutal rape and robbery at a New York hotel following a performance. She later won a lawsuit against the hotel but suffered from deep depression in the aftermath.
In 1977, a nasal surgery robbed her of her singing voice. It took years and multiple surgeries for her to recover. Then in 1981, her brother, attorney George A. Franconero, was murdered at the age of 40. According to The New York Times, he had given law enforcement information related to organized crime and was shot while scraping ice off his windshield.
Francis was also candid about her struggles with bipolar disorder, which she chronicled in her 1984 autobiography Who’s Sorry Now.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey promoting the book, she reflected on both her hardships and triumphs:
“One of the things I wanted the book to show was that every time there’s a story about me, it reads like a Greek tragedy, and I don’t want people to feel like I’m capitalizing on so many tragedies that did occur in my life. My life has really been a Cinderella life—with the exception of the last 10 years.”
