Back in the 1960s, Francoise Hardy was a popular French singer. AOL reports that she was also the muse for stars including Sir Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan. Jagger once describes has as his “ideal woman.”
In addition, she also modeled for fashion designers such as Paco Rabanne and Yves Saint Laurent.
Unfortunately, Hardy has died. Her son, Thomas Dutronc, broke the news on Instagram. He posted a close-up picture of himself as a baby with his mother. In the caption, he wrote in French, “Maman est partie…” According to Google translate, that translates to “Mom is gone.”
Dutronc did not include a cause of death in his post and did not share any circumstances surrounding her death; however, according to Billboard she died on June 11, 2024, following a long battle with cancer. She first announced her cancer diagnosis in 2004. She was 80 years old when she died.
Back in the 1960s, Dylan wrote love letters to Hardy and even included her name in a poem that was printed on the back of his 1964 album titled Another Side Of Bob Dylan.
Hardy’s first hit and what skyrocketed her to fame was the song “Tous Les Garcons Et Les Filles (All The Girls And Boys)” in which she talks about being single. You can listen to this song in the video below.
This was hardly her only song. During her career, she released almost 30 albums which included hit songs such as “Mon Amie La Rose” and “Comment Te Dire Adieu.”
When Dutronc announced the news of his mother’s death, many people turned to the comments to share their sympathy for his loss and how much his mother’s music meant to them. A translation from French to English of one comment reads, “A few months ago, I was bringing my mom home, we went to see my dad, hospitalized after a stroke, my mom has Alzheimer’s and in my playlist there was “all the boys and girls my age” that came by, my mom sang and she remembered the lyrics, we sang together with Françoise in the car, today my heart is tight thinking of you Thomas.”
Another translated comment reads, “From far away Brazil I add my tears to those of the tens of millions of fans of your mother, who for all of us has always represented the beauty, gentleness, sensitivity and magic of an unparalleled talent. She will always be a symbol of femininity, elegance and poetic and musical genius.”