Connie Francis, the ’60s pop balladeer known for “Who’s Sorry Now,” “Stupid Cupid,” and “Pretty Little Baby,” died on July 16 at 87. Her publicist, Ron Roberts, confirmed her death in a Facebook post without mentioning cause of death. “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 in a post that was then reshared by Francis’s official Facebook page. “I know that Connie would approve that her fans are among the first to learn of this sad news.” Francis was in the hospital on July 2, 2025, due to “extreme pain,” according to her Facebook. She posted for the last time on July 4, saying, “Today I am feeling much better after a good night, and wanted to take this opportunity of wishing you all a happy Fourth of July.”
Francis was born in 1938 in Newark, New Jersey, to the son of Italian immigrants. Her Italian father was an omnipresence in her career, recognizing her talent early and getting her to audition from a young age. With his influence, Francis became a child star, appearing on the local TV variety show Marie Moser’s Starlets by 11 as well as on Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour and Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts. She began singing in clubs before she was legally allowed in by forging her own documents and began recording music for MGM in 1955. After two years, her contract was in jeopardy because she’d failed to chart, and she was told she only got one more disc — on it, she recorded her first major track: her 1957 cover of “Who’s Sorry Now.” Francis’s version peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard chart in March 1958 and led the way to six years of consistent hits for Francis. Francis scored three No. 1 hits in the coming years: “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” and “My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own” in 1960 and “Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You” in 1962. She also recorded classics like “Stupid Cupid” and “Pretty Little Baby,” which had a TikTok-fueled resurgence earlier this year. She additionally recorded songs in Italian, at her father’s behest, which led to success in Europe as well.
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In 1974, she was raped at knifepoint in a motel, which led her to retreat from public life. In 1981, her attorney brother was killed by the Mafia after testifying against them. She opens up about both in a memoir published in 1984, Who’s Sorry Now?, which became a New York Times best seller. Francis is currently featured on Broadway in the Bobby Darin musical Just in Time, where she’s played by the Tony-nominated Gracie Lawrence. Though she was unable to see the show, Francis told People in May that she hoped to attend “after I go to therapy and I’m able to walk.”
