Françoise Hardy (born Françoise Madeleine Hardy; on 17 January 1944 - 11 June 2024) was a French former singer and songwriter mainly known for singing melancholic sentimental ballads. Hardy signed her first contract with the record label Vogue in November 1961. In April 1962, shortly after finishing school, her first album, "Oh oh Chéri", appeared, with the title song written by Johnny Hallyday's writing duo. The flip side of the record, "Tous les garçons et les filles" became a huge success, which sold 2 million copies. She had long hair and usually wore jeans with a leather jacket, while accompanying her songs on the guitar. She sang in English, Spanish, and German occasionally. In 1963, she represented Monaco in the Grand Prix d'Eurovision de la Chanson with "L'amour s'en va" and emerged in fifth place. In 1968, she received the Grand Prix du Disque Académie Charles Cros. In 1981, she married her long-time companion Jacques Dutronc, with whom she had already had a son (Thomas Dutronc) in 1973. In May 2000, she had a comeback with the album "Clair Obscur". Her son played the guitar, and her husband sang the duet "Puisque vous partez en voyage". Iggy Pop and Etienne Daho participated, as well. She lived near Paris. In 2006 she released a new duets album entitled "Parenthèses" which included a song with her son Thomas. In 2021, Hardy announced that her health had worsened and that she would not be able to sing again owing to the effects of cancer therapy. She passed away on 11 June 2024, at the age of 80.