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Françoise Hardy, renowned French singer-songwriter, has died at 80

French singer Françoise Hardy arrives at the annual Victoires de la Musique ceremony at the Zenith in Paris on March 5, 2005.
Jacques Brinon
/
AP
French singer Françoise Hardy arrives at the annual Victoires de la Musique ceremony at the Zenith in Paris on March 5, 2005.

Françoise Hardy, a renowned French singer-songwriter, actress and model, has died at age 80, according to reports.

“Maman est partie,” her son Thomas Dutronc wrote on Facebook Tuesday, which translates to “mom is gone.” He shared a photo of her holding him while he was a baby.

Hardy was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer in 2004, and also had laryngeal cancer, according to Variety.

Hardy released more than 20 albums that began with her debut in 1962 with the album and song, Tous les garçons et les filles, or “All the Boys and Girls.”

She also starred in films including Château en Suède (1963), What’s New Pussycat? (1965) and Grand Prix (1966). Later in life, Hardy began writing books. Her autobiography, Le désespoir des singes...et autres bagatelles, or The Despair of Monkeys and Other Trifles, was first published in 2008. In 2012, she published her first novel and an album that shared the same title, L'amour fou, or “Crazy Love.”

Copyright 2024 NPR

Ayana Archie
[Copyright 2024 NPR]
Anastasia Tsioulcas is a reporter on NPR's Arts desk. She is intensely interested in the arts at the intersection of culture, politics, economics and identity, and primarily reports on music. Recently, she has extensively covered gender issues and #MeToo in the music industry, including backstage tumult and alleged secret deals in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against megastar singer Plácido Domingo; gender inequity issues at the Grammy Awards and the myriad accusations of sexual misconduct against singer R. Kelly.