Connie Francis, a singer best known for pop hits in the 1950s and 60s including “Stupid Cupid” and more, died on Tuesday night. She was 87 years old.
“It is with a heavy heart and extreme sadness that I inform you of the passing of my dear friend Connie Francis last night,” her publicist, Ron Roberts, wrote in a Facebook post. “I know that Connie would approve that her fans are among the first to learn of this sad news.”
Roberts did not reveal a cause of death, but added that “More details will follow later.”
Francis was best known for both ballads like “Who’s Sorry Now” and “Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You,” as well as upbeat hits. “Stupid Cupid” was covered by Mandy Moore in the beloved 2001 film “The Princess Diaries,” and Francis’s “Pretty Little Baby” recently found new life as a trend on TikTok.
“My thanks to TikTok and its members for the wonderful, and oh so unexpected, reception given to my 1961 recording ‘Pretty Little Baby’,” she wrote on Facebook back in May.
“The first I learned of it was when Ron called to advise me that I had ‘a viral hit.’ Clearly out of touch with present day music statistics terminology, my initial response was to ask: ‘What’s that?’ Thank you everyone!”
Francis was a sensation in the ’50s and ’60s and was the first woman to have three No. 1 hits on the Billboard 200 chart. She somewhat retreated from the limelight after she was raped in 1974, and recounted her highs and lows in her 1984 autobiography “Who’s Sorry Now?”
In 2017, Francis published another autobiography, “Among My Souvenirs.”