French singer-songwriter, actor, and model Françoise Hardy has died at the age of 80. The sad news was confirmed by her son, musician Thomas Dutronc, who shared a simple message on social media . Alongside a touching photo of himself as a baby with his mother, he wrote, ‘Maman est partie’ alongside many heart emojis, which translates to ‘Mom is gone.
’ The exact cause of Hardy’s death has not yet been disclosed. However, the legendary artist had been open about her recent health struggles. In June 2021, she revealed that she had been diagnosed with laryngeal cancer in 2018, following a lymphoma diagnosis in 2004.
At the time, she expressed feeling ‘close to the end’ of her life. Born in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1944, Hardy was a major icon and wave maker in French music. Drawing inspiration from both the French chanson style of crooned ballads and the edgier sounds of emerging pop and rock ‘n’ roll, Hardy became a pivotal figure in the yé-yé style that dominated mid-century French music.
This genre got its name from the habit of English-language bands of the time to chant ‘yeah.’ Hardy herself contributed to its naming, as La Fille Avec Toi begins with the English words: ‘Oh, oh, yeah, yeah.’ Françoise Hardy’s musical career skyrocketed in 1962 with her hit single Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles, which dominated the charts in France and several other countries.
She followed this success with another hit, C’est à L’amour Auquel Je Pense,.
