Connie Francis
Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (/ˌfræŋkoʊˈnɪəroʊ/ FRANG-koh-NEER-oh; December 12, 1937 – July 16, 2025), known professionally as Connie Francis, was an American singer and actress. One of the top-charting female vocalists of the late 1950s and early 1960s, she amassed over 100 million records sold, placing her among the best-selling music artists in history.
After a string of unsuccessful releases, Francis rose to fame in 1958 with her cover of the 1923 song "Who's Sorry Now?", which was followed by various other top-10 hits. She became the first woman to reach No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart when "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" topped the chart in 1960. She was also the first woman to achieve three No. 1 hits on the chart, among her 53 career entries. Before the advent of the British Invasion, Francis was the most popular female vocalist in the United States between 1958 and 1964.
Francis recorded music in multiple languages, including English, Italian, French, German, Greek, Yiddish, and Japanese, making her a best-selling artist in international markets as well as in American immigrant communities.
Between 1974 and 1988, a series of traumatic personal experiences, including a rape attack at knifepoint, led Francis to suffer years of psychological and physical difficulties that sidelined her career. She resumed performing from 1989 until her retirement in 2018. She regained prominence in 2025, shortly before her death, when her 1962 recording "Pretty Little Baby" went viral on social media platforms.
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Acting
TV
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self
1962
TV
The Oscars
as Self
1953
Movie
Where the Boys Are
as Angie
1960
TV
What's My Line?
as Self - Mystery Guest
1950
TV
The Ed Sullivan Show
as Self
1948
TV
The Jack Benny Program
as Mrs. Stephen Foster
1950
TV
This Is Your Life
as Self
1952
TV
The Merv Griffin Show
as Self
1962
TV
American Bandstand
as Self
1957
TV
The Mike Douglas Show
as Self
1961
TV
The Mike Douglas Show
as Self - Co-Host
1961
Movie
Follow the Boys
as Bonnie
1963
Movie
Jamboree!
as Connie Francis
1957
Movie
When the Boys Meet the Girls
as Ginger Gray
1965
Movie
Hava Nagila: The Movie
as Self
2012
Movie
Looking for Love
as Libby Caruso
1964
TV
The Bell Telephone Hour
as Self
1959
TV
The Dick Clark Show
as Self
1958
Flitterabend
as Self - Singer
1988
TV
Starparade
as Self
1968
TV
Legends
as Self
2006
Movie
Neil Sedaka: King of Song
as Self
2014
The Big Beat
1957
TV
Die Feste mit Florian Silbereisen
as Self
1994