Legendary singer and actress Connie Francis has died, aged 87.
Her death comes two weeks after she was hospitalised in “extreme pain” and admitted to intensive care.
Ron Roberts, a close friend and the president of her label, Concetta Records, confirmed the news in a post on Facebook.
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“It is with a heavy heart and extreme sadness that I inform you of the passing of my dear friend Connie Francis last night,” he wrote.
“I know that Connie would approve that her fans are among the first to learn of this sad news. More details will follow later.”
Francis was the voice behind in 1962 hit Pretty Little Baby, which went viral on TikTok earlier this year.
Now, 63 years after its original release, the song’s consistently been in the Spotify top five streaming charts around parts of the world, having been listened to more than 84 million times.
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“To think that a song I recorded 63 years ago is touching the hearts of millions of people is truly awesome,” she told People magazine in a May interview.
“It is an amazing feeling.”
Just two years after the song’s original release, Francis was recognised with a special Golden Globe Award in 1964 for International Contribution to the Recording World.
The musician and star of 1960s movies such as Where the Boys Are and Looking for Love, kept fans updated on her health woes.
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On July 2 she shared she was “undergoing tests and checks to determine the cause(s) of the extreme pain I have been experiencing”.
And on July 4, Francis thanked everyone for their prayers as well as their TikToks.
Francis, born Concetta Franconero, was one of the most popular singers of the 1950s and ’60s, with chart hits including Stupid Cupid, Lipstick on Your Collar and Who’s Sorry Now? propelling her career.
In 1984, she released the memoir Who’s Sorry Now, which would go on to become a New York Times bestseller - detailing her string of personal tragedies in the 1970s.
“My personal life is a regret from A to Z,” she told The Associated Press in 1984, the year the book came out.
She was raped at knifepoint at a Long Island hotel in 1974, had nasal surgery in 1977 that caused her to lose her voice temporarily and then her brother was killed by the mafia in 1981.
Francis survived a 1984 suicide attempt after spending three days in a coma and revealed more of her struggles in a 2011 interview.
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“To make a short story long, in the ’80s I was involuntarily committed to mental institutions 17 times in nine years in five different states,” she told The Village Voice.
“I was misdiagnosed as bipolar, ADD, ADHD, and a few other letters the scientific community had never heard of.
“A few years later, I was discovered to have had post-traumatic stress disorder following a horrendous string of events in my life.”
The singer said the events turned her into a recluse.
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Francis went on to become an advocate for rape victims, working with the Regan administration in the ’80s.
In 2010, she partnered with Mental Health America in her advocacy work.
She was married four times and would say that only her third husband, Joseph Garzilli, was worth the trouble. The other marriages each lasted less than a year.
If you or someone you know is in need of support contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue. In the event of an emergency dial Triple Zero (000).
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