{{Short description|French singer (1944–2024)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox person | name = Françoise Hardy | image = Francoise hardy february 1966.jpg | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = Hardy in 1966 | birth_name = Françoise Madeleine Hardy | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1944|1|17}} | birth_place = Paris, France | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2024|6|11|1944|1|17}} | death_place = Paris, France | occupation = {{hlist|Singer-songwriter|astrologer|writer|actress}} | years_active = 1962–2021 | spouse = {{marriage|Jacques Dutronc|30 March 1981|1988|end={{abbr|sep.|separated}}}}{{efn|Dutronc and Hardy remained legally married until Hardy's death in 2024, although they had been separated since 1988.}} | children = Thomas Dutronc | website = {{URL|francoise-hardy.com}} | module = {{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes | genre = {{hlist|French pop|yé-yé|chanson}} | instrument = {{hlist|Vocals|guitar}} | label = {{hlist|Disques Vogue|Sonopresse|Warner Bros.|Pathé-Marconi|Flarenasch|EMI|Virgin|Parlophone}} }} | signature = Françoise Hardy signature.svg | signature_alt = }}
'''Françoise Madeleine Hardy''' ({{IPA|fr|fʁɑ̃swaz madlɛn aʁdi|lang}}; 17 January 1944 – 11 June 2024) was a French singer-songwriter, actress, and author. She was known for singing melancholic, sentimental ballads. Hardy rose to prominence in the early 1960s as a leading figure in French ''yé-yé'' music and became a cultural icon in France and internationally. In addition to her native French, she also sang in English, Italian, and German. Her musical career spanned more than 50 years, with over 30 studio albums released. She also represented Monaco at the Eurovision Song Contest 1963.
Born and raised in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, Hardy made her musical debut in 1962 on French label Disques Vogue and found immediate success through the song "''Tous les garçons et les filles''". Drifting away from her early rock and roll influences, she began to record in London in 1964, which allowed her to broaden her sound with albums such as ''Mon amie la rose'', ''L'amitié'', ''La maison où j'ai grandi'', and ''Ma jeunesse fout le camp....'' In the late 1960s and early 1970s, she released ''Comment te dire adieu'', ''La question'', and ''Message personnel''. During this period, she worked with songwriters such as Serge Gainsbourg, Tuca, Patrick Modiano, Michel Berger, and Catherine Lara. Between 1977 and 1988, she worked with producer Gabriel Yared on the albums ''Star'', ''Musique saoûle'', ''Gin Tonic'', and ''À suivre''. Her 1988 record ''Décalages'' was publicized as her final album, although she returned eight years later with ''Le danger'', which reinvented her sound as harsher alternative rock. Her following albums of the 2000s — ''Clair-obscur'', ''Tant de belles choses'', and ''(Parenthèses...)'' — saw a return to her mellow style. In the 2010s, Hardy released her final three albums: ''La pluie sans parapluie'', ''L'amour fou'', and ''Personne d'autre''.
In addition to music, Hardy landed film roles as a supporting actress in ''Château en Suède'', ''Une balle au cœur'', and the American production ''Grand Prix''. She became a muse for fashion designers such as André Courrèges, Yves Saint Laurent, and Paco Rabanne, and collaborated with photographer Jean-Marie Périer. Hardy developed a career as an astrologer, having written extensively on the subject from the 1970s onwards. She was also an author of fiction and non-fiction books from the 2000s. Her autobiography, ''Le désespoir des singes...et autres bagatelles'' (''The Despair of Monkeys...and Other Trifles''), was a best-seller in France.
As a public figure, Hardy was known for her shyness, disenchantment with celebrity life, and self-deprecatory attitude, which were attributed to her lifelong struggles with anxiety and insecurity. She married French singer-songwriter Jacques Dutronc in 1981. Their son, Thomas, also became a musician. Hardy remains one of the best-selling singers in French history and continues to be regarded as an important and influential figure in both French pop music and fashion. In 2006 she was awarded the ''Grande médaille de la chanson française'', an honorary award given by the Académie française, in recognition of her career in music. Hardy died of cancer in Paris in June 2024, aged 80.
==Early life and education== [[File:Rue dAumale Paris.jpg|thumb|Hardy was raised in a modest apartment on the Rue d'Aumale, in Paris's 9th arrondissement]] Françoise Madeleine Hardy was born on 17 January 1944 at the Marie-Louise Clinic in the 9th arrondissement of Paris in German-occupied France during World War II.<ref name="HardyOne">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "One"</ref> She was born during an air raid and the windows of the clinic exploded.<ref name="radio">{{cite news |date=8 October 2020 |title=Françoise Hardy, la mélancolie en chansons |trans-title=Françoise Hardy, melancholy in songs |url=https://www.franceculture.fr/emissions/francoise-hardy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511115625/https://www.franceculture.fr/emissions/francoise-hardy |archive-date=11 May 2021 |access-date=10 May 2021 |newspaper=France Culture |language=French}}</ref> She related being born in this violent context to her "abnormally anxious temperament" as an adult.<ref name="radio"/> Her younger sister, Michèle, was born eighteen months later<ref name="QuinoneroEnfance" /> and their mother, Madeleine Hardy ({{circa}}1921–1991<ref name="HardyOne" />), who came from an ordinary background, raised Françoise and Michèle as a single parent.<ref name="QuinoneroEnfance">Quinonero, 2017, "«C'est ton enfance / Qui se promène à cloche-pied / Dans ta mémoire..."</ref> Her father, Étienne Dillard, was a married man who came from a wealthy family. He did little to help them financially and was an absent figure in their upbringing,<ref name="QuinoneroEnfance"/><ref name="linternaute"/> only visiting the children a couple of times a year.<ref name="rfi"/> Hardy's mother raised her daughters strictly in a modest apartment on the 9th arrondissement's Rue d'Aumale.<ref name="QuinoneroEnfance"/> Hardy had an unhappy and troubled childhood<ref name="rfi"/> and mostly engaged in solitary activities like reading, playing with dolls, or listening to the radio.<ref name="QuinoneroMonLit">Quinonero, 2017, "«Dans mon lit / Je dors, je rêve ou je lis»"</ref>
At the insistence of their father, the girls went to a Catholic school called Institution La Bruyère, under the tutelage of Trinitarian nuns.<ref name="HardyOne" /> The socio-economic gap between Hardy and her classmates was a source of lifelong insecurity.<ref name="QuinoneroEnfance" /> Her mental health was worsened by her maternal grandmother,<ref name="HardyOne" /><ref name="QuinoneroEnfance" /> who "told [her] repeatedly that [she] was unattractive and a very bad person".<ref name="mortality" /> Between 1952 and 1960, Hardy and her sister were sent every summer to Austria to learn German, encouraged by her mother's new lover, an Austrian baron.<ref name="QuinoneroAustria">Quinonero, 2017, "Les étés autrichiens"</ref> Her father played piano and Hardy was introduced to piano lessons as a very young child, which she dropped after experiencing stage fright when she was required to perform on stage at the Salle Gaveau.<ref name="Hardy Two" />
At age 16, Hardy finished her secondary education and passed her ''baccalauréat''.<ref name="Hardy Two">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Two"</ref> To mark the occasion her father asked her what gift she would like and she chose a guitar, with which she began to sing her own songs.<ref name="Hardy Two" /> Following her mother's orders, she enrolled in the Paris Institute of Political Studies while still a teenager,<ref name="Hardy Two" /> but finding it too challenging she left the Institute and enrolled at the Sorbonne to study German.<ref>{{cite news |title=Francoise is France's little girl next door |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-mirror-francoise-is-frances-littl/168845615/ |access-date=25 March 2025 |work=Daily Mirror |date=23 March 1963 |location=London, United Kingdom |page=16 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Hardy used the time left from her courses to compose songs<ref name="Hardy Two" /> and began to perform in a small venue, where she played every Thursday "in front of an audience of retirees".<ref name="QuinoneroGuitare">Quinonero, 2017, "«Un air de guitare..."</ref> Around this time she auditioned for record label Pathé-Marconi after seeing an ad in ''France-Soir''.<ref name="QuinoneroGuitare" /> She was rejected, but was pleased that she had held the directors' attention for longer than she expected.<ref name="QuinoneroGuitare" /> She also felt encouraged after hearing her recorded voice, which she found "less off-key and tremulous than [she] feared".<ref name="Hardy Two" />
==Music career== === 1961–1962: Career beginnings === Hardy went to Philips Records and was recommended to take singing lessons.<ref name="QuinoneroGuitare" /> She auditioned for ''Le Petit Conservatoire de la chanson'' in 1961, a school for performers that aired on radio and television.<ref name="QuinoneroGuitare" /><ref name="INAfille">{{cite web |last=Dartois |first=Florence |date=29 March 2021 |title=1962, Françoise Hardy, jeune espoir du "Petit conservatoire" |trans-title=1962, Françoise Hardy, young hope of the "Petit Conservatoire" |url=https://www.ina.fr/contenus-editoriaux/articles-editoriaux/1962-francoise-hardy-jeune-espoir-du-petit-conservatoire |access-date=21 May 2021 |publisher=INA |language=French}}</ref> The head of the program, Mireille Hartuch, was known for being selective. However, she saw Hardy enter the classroom and immediately accepted her before she could play.<ref name="QuinoneroGuitare" /> They developed a "mother-daughter relationship" and a friendship based on mutual esteem.<ref name="QuinoneroGuitare" />
On 14 May 1961, Hardy auditioned for the French label Disques Vogue.<ref name="QuinoneroVogue" /> Her looks caught the attention of their sound engineer André Bernot, who felt that she "would make a nice record cover", and offered to teach her music theory to improve her sense of rhythm.<ref name="QuinoneroVogue" /> Bernot later recorded a four-track demo with her which he submitted to the label's directior Jacques Wolfsohn.<ref name="QuinoneroVogue" /> Wolfsohn was looking for a female singer to record "''Oh oh chéri''", a French-language version of Bobby Lee Trammell's song "Uh Oh",<ref name="Hardy Two" /><ref name="QuinoneroVogue" /> and after auditioning Hardy Wolfsohn offered her a one-year contract,<ref name="Hardy Two" /> which she signed on 14 November 1961.<ref name="QuinoneroVogue">Quinonero, 2017, "En Vogue"</ref>
Upon hearing Hardy's new record deal, Hartuch presented her on the ''Petit Conservatoire'' TV show on 6 February 1962.<ref name="rfi" /><ref name="petitfille">{{cite web |url=https://www.ina.fr/contenus-editoriaux/articles-editoriaux/1962-francoise-hardy-jeune-espoir-du-petit-conservatoire/ |title=1962, Françoise Hardy, jeune espoir du "Petit conservatoire" |access-date=28 May 2021 |date=29 March 2021 |language=French |publisher=INA |first=Florence |last=Dartois |archive-date=2 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215328/https://www.ina.fr/contenus-editoriaux/articles-editoriaux/1962-francoise-hardy-jeune-espoir-du-petit-conservatoire/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Hardy performed her original song "''La fille avec toi''" on guitar, after which she was asked what the English-language "yeah! yeah!" in her lyrics meant.<ref name="petitfille" /><ref name="Hardy Two" /> The transliteration "''yé-yé''" was later popularized by sociologist Edgar Morin through an article published in ''Le Monde'' on 7 July 1963, in which he analyzed the burgeoning youth-led pop music scene.<ref name="Briggs1425">Briggs, 2015, pp. 14–25</ref><ref name="QuinoneroTournee" /> The ''yé-yé'' phenomenon was coined by the radio program ''Salut les copains,'' created by Daniel Filipacchi, and its magazine of the same name.<ref name="Briggs1425" /><ref name="QuinoneroGarcon" />
=== 1962–1963: ''Yé-yé'' sensation === {{multiple image | align = right | direction = vertical | width = 225 | header = Hardy at the ''Grand Gala du Disque'' in the Netherlands, October 1963 | image1 = Francoise Hardy biedt prinses Margriet bloemen aan tijdens het Grand Gala du Dis, Bestanddeelnr 915-6257.jpg | caption1 = Meeting Princess Margriet and sports executive Jaap van Praag. | image2 = Grand Gala du Disque populier in Kurhaus te Scheveningen Nummer 202122 Godfrie, Bestanddeelnr 915-6264.jpg | caption2 = Receiving the Edison Award in the "Youth" category from writer and TV personality Godfried Bomans.}} Vogue released Hardy's first extended play (EP) in May 1962, which included "''Oh oh chéri''" together with her compositions "''Il est parti un jour''", "''J'suis d'accord''" and the sentimental ballad "''Tous les garçons et les filles''".<ref name="QuinoneroProjets">Quinonero, 2017, "''Des projets d'avenir''"</ref> In early October, Hardy filmed a black-and-white music video for "''Tous les garçons et les filles''", directed by Pierre Badel, which appeared on the TV show ''Toute la chanson''.<ref name="QuinoneroVogue"/> The song was Hardy's choice, and also that of the show's producer André Salvet, despite Wolfsohn's reluctance to promote it.<ref name="QuinoneroVogue"/> Hardy was introduced to a wider audience on 28 October when the clip was rebroadcast during a commercial break in the televised results of the presidential election referendum.<ref name="linternaute">{{cite web |last=Dieu |first=Sarah |date=31 March 2021 |title=Françoise Hardy malade: ce que l'on sait sur sa santé |trans-title=Françoise Hardy sick: what we know about her health |url=https://www.linternaute.com/musique/biographie/1777696-francoise-hardy-malade-ce-que-l-on-sait-sur-sa-sante/ |access-date=10 May 2021 |publisher=L'Internaute |language=French}}</ref><ref name="abc">{{cite web |url=https://www.abc.es/cultura/musica/abci-francoise-hardy-nuevo-disco-201210300000_noticia.html |language=Spanish |access-date=11 May 2021 |title=Françoise Hardy: nuevo disco y primera novela |last=de la Fuente |first=Manuel |date=21 October 2012 |work=ABC |archive-date=5 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240505153025/https://www.abc.es/cultura/musica/abci-francoise-hardy-nuevo-disco-201210300000_noticia.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="QuinoneroElectre"/> The song instantly became popular among the youth in France, particularly teenage girls, and was widely played on radio stations, starting with Europe n° 1.<ref name="QuinoneroProjets"/> "''Tous les garçons et les filles''" was further popularized by a Scopitone music video directed by Claude Lelouch.<ref name="QuinoneroElectre">Quinonero, 2017, "''Électre en ciré noir''"</ref>
Vogue quickly released two more EPs of Hardy's songs. These were later compiled, with the first EP for her debut studio album, which became known as ''Tous les garçons et les filles''.<ref name="QuinoneroRois"/> In France the LP format was initially viewed with skepticism<ref name="rsde">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.de/reviews/francoise-hardy-mon-amie-la-rose/ |language=German |title=Françoise Hardy: Mon amie la rose (Kritik & Stream) |last=Vetter |first=Marc |date=18 March 2016 |access-date=14 May 2021 |magazine=Rolling Stone |location=Germany}}</ref> and Hardy's first series of albums were compilations of previously released four-track 7-inch records,<ref name="p4kreviews"/> a format known as "super 45 [rpm]".<ref name="Hardy Two"/><ref name="QuinoneroRois"/> Most of her full-length records were released without a title, with only her name on the cover, and they came to be known by the title of the most popular song of the collection.<ref name="exclaim"/><ref name="QuinoneroQuestion">Quinonero, 2017, "«Question» mythique"</ref> Hardy's debut studio album was awarded the ''Trophée de la Télévision'' and the prestigious ''Grand Prix du Disque'' award given by the Académie Charles Cros.<ref name="QuinoneroRois">Quinonero, 2017, "«À vingt ans / On est les rois du monde»"</ref> By early 1963, 500,000 copies of "''Tous les garçons et les filles''" had been sold in France,<ref name="QuinoneroFenetre"/> and the total rose to 2.5 million in the following months.<ref name="QuinoneroElectre"/>
Hardy's singles "''J'suis d'accord''", "''Le temps de l'amour''", and "''Tous les garçons... ''" topped the French singles chart in late 1962 and early 1963.<ref name="infodisc60s">{{cite web |last1=Lesueur |first1=Daniel |last2=Durand |first2=Dominic |year=2018 |title=Toutes les Chansons N° 1 des Années 60's |trans-title=All Number 1 Songs of the 60s |url=http://www.infodisc.fr/Chanson_Number1_60.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180513042828/http://www.infodisc.fr/Chanson_Number1_60.php |archive-date=13 May 2018 |access-date=23 May 2021 |publisher=InfoDisc |language=French}}</ref> She signed a new five-year contract with Vogue and an agreement with Editions Musicales Alpha, created by Wolfsohn.<ref name="QuinoneroElectre"/> She met Michel Bourdais, a young designer recently discovered by Charles Aznavour,<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Richard Anthony (singer) |last=Anthony |first=Richard |title=Quand on choisit la liberté |isbn=978-2738226587 |publisher=Florent Massot |language=French |year=2010 |page= 114 |quote=A la fin de son tour de chant à l'Apollo, Charles (Aznavour) rencontra l'auteur de son portrait (Michel Bourdais) et en fit l'acquisition}}.</ref> who created the first portrait of Françoise Hardy. (Which Hardy, artistically seduced, acquired.){{clarification needed |date=August 2024}}<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Richard Anthony (singer) |last=Anthony |first=Richard |title=Quand on choisit la liberté |isbn=978-2738226587 |publisher=Florent Massot |language=French |year=2010 |page= 115 |quote=''Françoise (Hardy), elle aussi, lui acheta un petit portrait qu'il (Michel Bourdais) avait fait d'elle et qu'elle aimait beaucoup''.}}.</ref>
In March 1963, she represented Monaco at the Eurovision Song Contest 1963, recorded in London. She performed the song "''L'amour s'en va''", which came fifth in the contest. When the song was released as a single, it reached No. 5 on the French charts in June 1963.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Billboard Hits of the World |magazine=Billboard |date=8 June 1963 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=agsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA31 |access-date=24 June 2021 |archive-date=12 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612072217/https://books.google.com/books?id=agsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA31#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> In October, Hardy released her second studio album, ''Le premier bonheur du jour''.<ref name="QuinoneroTournee">Quinonero, 2017, "''La vie de tournée''"</ref> That month she received the "Youth" Edison Award at the ''Grand Gala du Disque'' in Scheveningen, Netherlands.<ref name="QuinoneroRois" /> She was presented with the trophy by the author Godfried Bomans, who praised her as a "creative artist" who knew how to impose "a personal style without trying to imitate the Americans".<ref name="QuinoneroRois" />
[[File:Francoise Hardy November 3 1963.png|thumb|upright=1.1|left|Hardy arriving in Barcelona in 1963, greeted by Hispavox international director Luis Calvo]] As a leading figure of the ''yé-yé'' craze, Hardy found herself at the forefront of the French music scene and became the country's most exportable female singer.<ref name="rfi">{{cite web |url=http://www.rfimusic.com/artist/chanson/francoise-hardy/biography.html |title=Françoise Hardy – Biography |date=March 2013 |publisher=Radio France Internationale |access-date=27 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180430034019/http://www.rfimusic.com/artist/chanson/francoise-hardy/biography.html |archive-date=30 April 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Beginning in 1963, translated re-recordings of "''Tous les garçons et les filles''" were exported to Italian, German, and English-speaking markets.<ref name="QuinoneroFenetre">Quinonero, 2017, "«LA FENÊTRE OUVERTE SUR LE MONDE... ne vaut pas celle fermée sur mon amour...»"</ref> The first non-French-speaking country in which the singer found success was Italy, where the song became "''Quelli della mia età''" and sold 255,000 copies. It topped the singles chart between April and October, dropping to second place between July and August behind Rita Pavone's "Cuore".<ref name="QuinoneroCachez">Quinonero, 2017, "«Dans quel pays vous cachez-vous?»"</ref> At the end of the summer in Milan, she recorded new songs<ref name="QuinoneroCachez"/> which were included in the Italian release ''Françoise Hardy canta per voi in italiano''.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=Françoise Hardy canta per voi in italiano |author=Françoise Hardy |year=1963 |location=Italy |publisher=Disques Vogue |id=LPJ 5034 |type=LP record}}</ref> The single "''L'età dell'amore''" / "''E all'amore che penso''" also topped the Italian charts.<ref name="QuinoneroCachez"/>
===1964–1968: International stardom=== {{Missing information|section| the album ''Comment te dire adieu''. It appears elsewhere as a passing mention without context|date=June 2024}} left|thumb|258x258px|Hardy in 1964 In 1963, Hardy went to London record new music.<ref name="mortality" /> At the height of the British Invasion, Hardy sought to modernize her music,<ref name="QuinoneroLondres">Quinonero, 2017, "«Des façons Londres de me promettre Corfou»"</ref> opting to leave the poor quality of French studios and sound engineers and record her songs at Pye Records studios.<ref name="Deluxe60">Deluxe, 2013. p. 60</ref> Working with producer Tony Hatch in February 1964, she recorded an EP that included a cover of "Catch a Falling Star" and three adaptations of her hits "Find Me a Boy" ("Tous les garçons et les filles"), "Only Friends" ("Ton meilleur ami") and "I Wish It Were Me" ("J'aurais voulu").<ref name="QuinoneroCachez" /> English audiences initially preferred her recordings in French,<ref name="QuinoneroCachez" /> with "Tous les garçons et les filles" entering the UK Singles Chart on 1 July 1964 at number thirty-six.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/tous-les-garcons-et-les-filles/|title=Tous les garçons et les filles|access-date=29 May 2021|publisher=Official Singles Chart|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602213856/https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/tous-les-garcons-et-les-filles/|url-status=live}}</ref>
Her 1965 English-language single "All Over the World" was a hit in the UK, reaching the Top 20 and staying on the charts for fifteen weeks.<ref name="allovertheworld">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/all-over-the-world-mt0028665336|author-link=Richie Unterberger|first=Richie|last=Unterberger|access-date=14 May 2021|publisher=AllMusic|title=All Over the World – Françoise Hardy|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515013212/https://www.allmusic.com/song/all-over-the-world-mt0028665336|url-status=live}}</ref> It was also successful in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand,<ref name="QuinoneroLondres" /> making it possibly her most popular recording among English-speaking audiences.<ref name="allovertheworld" />
In 1965 Hardy flew to New York to sign a record deal with Kapp to distribute her records in the United States.<ref name="QuinoneroMonde">Quinonero, 2017, "«Dans le monde entier»"</ref> The label released her debut studio album under the title ''The "Yeh-Yeh" Girl From Paris!'' and the single "However Much", an English version of the previously released track "Et même..."<ref name="QuinoneroMonde" /> A German language album ''In Deutschland'' was released which contained five original compositions and translated versions of her previous songs.<ref name="QuinoneroMonde" /> The most popular track in Germany was "Frag' den Abendwind", which remained on the national singles chart for twenty-four weeks.<ref name="QuinoneroMonde" />thumb|209x209px|Hardy in 1966 On 12 April 1966, Hardy was among forty-six performers who took part in a group photograph shot by Jean-Marie Périer for ''Salut Les Copains.'' The image became a symbol of the yé-yé era and came to be known in France as the "photo of the century" (French: "''photo du siècle''").<ref name="linternaute" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Flückiger |first=Laurent |date=12 April 2016 |title=La "photo du siècle" a 50 ans |trans-title=The "photo of the century" is 50 years old. |url=https://www.lematin.ch/story/la-photo-du-siecle-a-50-ans-238515438548 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512154919/https://www.lematin.ch/story/la-photo-du-siecle-a-50-ans-238515438548 |archive-date=12 May 2021 |access-date=12 May 2021 |work=Le Matin |language=French}}</ref>
Beginning in late 1967, Hardy took Wolfsohn's suggestion to release her records through her own production company, Asparagus, although Vogue continued to distribute them.<ref name="QuinoneroSeptieme">Quinonero, 2017, "Septième album"</ref> She later regretted this decision, recalling in 1999: "The CEO of Vogue, Léon Cabat, was also in this production company and between them, they owned the majority of the shares. This has given rise to a lot of harassment lawsuits."<ref name="QuinoneroSeptieme" /> Her seventh French album ''Ma jeunesse fout le camp,'' the first one produced under Asparagus, was released in November 1967.<ref name="QuinoneroSeptieme" />
On the advice of English producer Noel Rodgers, Hardy recorded her second English album in the spring of 1968, known variously as ''En anglais'', ''The Second English Album'', ''Will You Love Me Tomorrow'', and ''Loving'', depending on the country.<ref name="QuinoneroAnglais">Quinonero, 2017, "«En anglais»"</ref>
In 1968, Hardy released a French cover of Vera Lynn's "It Hurts to Say Goodbye", titled "Comment te dire adieu", on the album of the same name. Its French lyrics were written by Serge Gainsbourg and it became one of her most successful releases.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Beaumont-Thomas |first1=Ben |title=Françoise Hardy, French pop singer and fashion muse, dies aged 80 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/3066869250 |date=12 June 2024|website=The Guardian |access-date=19 July 2024|id={{ProQuest|3066869250}} }}</ref>
===1969–1976: Transition to artistic maturity=== left|thumb|254x254px|Hardy in Amsterdam, December 1969 In 1970 she broke with the label and signed a three-year contract with Sonopresse, a subsidiary of Hachette.<ref name="QuinoneroDomicile">Quinonero, 2017, "Double changement de domicile"</ref> She also created a new production company called Hypopotam, and founded her own music publishing company, Kundalini.<ref name="QuinoneroDomicile" /> Hardy received large advances from Sonopresse, which allowed her to finance her own projects.<ref name="HardySeven" /> She described this period as "the happiest time", as she was now able to work independently on her music.<ref name="QuinoneroDomicile" /> This transitional period in her career began with the 1970 releases of several compilation albums, including the French ''Françoise'', as well as the studio albums ''One-Nine-Seven-Zero,'' recorded in English, and ''Träume'', her last German-language release.<ref name="QuinoneroDomicile" />
Her first French studio album produced under Hypopotam was {{ill|Soleil (Françoise Hardy album)|lt=Soleil|fr|Soleil (album)|italic=yes}}, was released in the spring of 1970.<ref name="QuinoneroSoleil" /> It featured numerous arrangers, including Bernard Estardy, Jean-Claude Vannier, Jean-Pierre Sabar, Mick Jones, Saint-Preux, Simon Napier-Bell, and Tommy Brown from Nero and the Gladiators.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fp.nightfall.fr/index_6768_franoise-hardy-soleil.html|author=Waltersmoke|language=French|access-date=31 May 2021|title=Françoise Hardy – Soleil (1970)|publisher=Forces Parallèles. Nightfall.fr|date=30 May 2014|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215203/http://fp.nightfall.fr/index_6768_franoise-hardy-soleil.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media|author=Françoise Hardy|title=Soleil|location=France|year=1970|publisher=Sonopresse|id=HY 39.902|type=LP record}}</ref> In the summer of 1970, Hardy released her penultimate Italian-language single, "Lungo il mare", written by Giuseppe Torrebruno, Luigi Albertelli and Donato Renzetti.<ref name="QuinoneroSoleil" /> Both this and the next Italian single, which included translated versions of "Soleil" ("Sole ti amo") and "Le crabe" ("Il granchio"), were unsuccessful.<ref name="QuinoneroSoleil" /> She also recorded in Spanish for the first time, for a single that contained translated versions of "Soleil" ("Sol") and "J'ai coupé le téléphone" ("Corté el teléfono").<ref name="QuinoneroSoleil" /><ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Sol|author=Françoise Hardy |year=1970|type=7-inch single|location=Spain|publisher=Hispavox|id=H 609}}</ref> In the spring of 1971, Hardy released singer-songwriter Patrick Dewaere's single "T'es pas poli", having been impressed by his performances at the Café de la Gare in Paris.<ref name="HardySeven" /><ref name="QuinoneroSoleil">Quinonero, 2017, "Soleil ou lune"</ref> Dewaere and Hardy performed the song on several television shows to promote it, but it was not a success.<ref name="HardySeven" />
In 1970 Hardy met Tuca (Valeniza Zagni da Silva), a Brazilian singer and guitarist based in Paris, and they became close friends.<ref name="HardySeven" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Blay |first=Milton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AA6FAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT27 |title=Direto de Paris: coq au vin com feijoada |year= 2014 |publisher=Editora Contexto |isbn=9788572448543 |page=27 |language=pt |trans-title=Direct from Paris: coq au vin with feijoada}}</ref> Hardy made an album with Tuca after attending the Festival Internacional da Canção in Rio de Janeiro and discovering the music of Brazil<ref name="QuinoneroQuestion" /><ref name="HardySeven" /><ref name="telerama16" /> This was the first time in her career that she had worked on material with another songwriter before going into the studio. She was also able to participate in the choice of string arrangements.<ref name="HardySeven" /> The resulting album, ''La question'', was released on 16 October 1971<ref name="Weiner 19">{{cite news |last=Weiner|first=Judith|date=25 October 1971|title=Interview |language=fr|newspaper=France-Soir|location=Paris|page=19}}</ref> and was promoted with the singles "Le martien",<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Le martien|author=Françoise Hardy |year=1971|type=7-inch single|location=France|publisher=Sonopresse|id=HY 45.908}}</ref> "Même sous la pluie"<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Même sous la pluie|author=Françoise Hardy |year=1971|type=7-inch single|location=France|publisher=Sonopresse|id=HY 45.909}}</ref> and "Rêve".<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Rêve|author=Françoise Hardy |year=1972|type=7-inch single|location=France|publisher=Sonopresse|id=HY 45.910}}</ref> Although acclaimed by the French press,<ref name="rfi" /><ref name="vie">{{cite web |last=Lehoux |first=Valérie |date=27 April 2012 |title=La vie en musique de Françoise Hardy |url=https://www.telerama.fr/musique/la-vie-en-musique-de-francoise-hardy,80734.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510192036/https://www.telerama.fr/musique/la-vie-en-musique-de-francoise-hardy,80734.php |archive-date=10 May 2021 |access-date=11 May 2021 |work=Télérama |language=French}}</ref> the album was not a success.<ref name="telerama16" /><ref name="Lesueur1938">Lesueur, 2015. p. 1938</ref>
Following the poor commercial performance of ''La question'', Hardy moved towards a different sound and enlisted British arranger Tony Cox to produce her next album.<ref name="HardySeven" /> Known as ''Et si je m'en vais avant toi'', ''L'éclairage'', or in reference to its cover, "The Orange Album", the record was released in November 1972 and promoted through the single "La berlue" (released earlier in June).<ref name="QuinoneroRouge" /> After finishing ''Et si je m'en vais avant toi'', Hardy and Cox recorded the English-language album ''If You Listen'', which included cover versions of little-known American and British songs.<ref name="HardySeven" /> When Hardy's contract with Sonopresse expired it was not renewed.<ref name="QuinoneroVI" />
Around 1972, Hardy recruited songwriter and producer Michel Berger after being impressed by his work with Véronique Sanson<ref name="HardyEight" /><ref name="QuinoneroVI">Quinonero, 2017, "«TOUS CES MOTS QUI FONT PEUR QUAND ILS NE FONT PAS RIRE... [...] Je voudrais vous les dire / Et je voudrais les vivre...»"</ref> He wrote two of the record's twelve songs, "Message personnel" and "Première rencontre", and found the other ten, although Hardy felt they were weak.<ref name="HardyEight" /> After a period of artistic independence, she again found herself working under the hectic schedule of a demanding producer.<ref name="QuinoneroBerger" /> She later described Berger as "a man in a hurry, with a thousand things to do, a thousand things to think about, a thousand people to see".<ref name="QuinoneroBerger" /> Recording sessions for the album took place in July 1973, soon after Hardy had given birth to her son Thomas Dutronc.<ref name="HardyEight" /> ''Message personnel'' was released that year on Warner Bros. Records,<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Message personnel|author=Françoise Hardy |year=1973|type=LP record|location=France|publisher=Warner Bros. Records|id=56 019}}</ref> with whom Hardy signed a three-year contract,<ref name="QuinoneroVI" /> and was a commercial and critical success.<ref name="rfi" /> Its title track reignited the singer's career in France.<ref name="QuinoneroBerger">Quinonero, 2017, "Michel Berger, l'homme pressé"</ref> She promoted the album with appearances on French TV shows, including ''Dimanche Salvador'', ''Sports en fête'', ''Top à'', ''La Une est à vous'', ''Midi trente'', ''Minuit chez vous'', ''Tempo'', ''Averty's Follies'', and ''Domino''.<ref name="QuinoneroBerger" />
Hardy wrote ten songs with a common theme for the next album,<ref name="HardyNine" /><ref name="QuinoneroFaim" /> and her friend Catherine Lara put the words to music. She also worked with Jean-Pierre Castelain and Gérard Kawczynski (with whom she had worked on ''Message personnel''), André Georget, and Michel Sivy.<ref name="QuinoneroFaim" /> Produced by Hughes de Courson, the concept album ''Entr'acte'' was released in November 1974 and promoted through the songs "Ce soir", "Je te cherche", and "Il y a eu des nuits".<ref name="QuinoneroFaim">Quinonero, 2017, "«Il y a eu des nuits / Où je mourais de toi / Comme on meurt de faim...»"</ref> It was a commercial failure<ref name="HardyTen" /> and Hardy took a break from music to devote more time to raising her child. She released two singles in 1975-76.<ref name="rfi" /><ref name="QuinoneroFaim" /> The first was Jean-Michel Jarre's "Que vas-tu faire?", backed by "Le compte a rebours"<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Que vas-tu faire?|author=Françoise Hardy |year=1975|type=7-inch single|location=France|publisher=Warner Bros. Records|id=16664}}</ref> which sold poorly.<ref name="HardyTen" /><ref name="QuinoneroFaim" /> The second was "Femme parmi les femmes", the theme song of Claude Lelouch's film ''Si c'était à refaire'', featuring lyrics by Pierre Barouh and music by Francis Lai.<ref name="QuinoneroFaim" />
Around 1976, Berger contacted Hardy again, wanting to sign her to his new record label, Apache, and she sent him the songs "Ton enfance", "Star", and "L'impasse".<ref name="HardyTen">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Ten"</ref> Berger proposed to release an album of her songs with compositions structured around a unifying concept, but Hardy declined and signed a three-year deal with Pathé-Marconi.<ref name="QuinoneroYared">Quinonero, 2017, "Gabriel Yared, le gentil tyran"</ref>
===1977–1995: Work with Gabriel Yared and hiatus=== thumb|upright|Hardy in Deauville, Normandy, July 1992 For 1977's ''Star'', her first album released under Pathé-Marconi, Hardy enlisted Gabriel Yared as producer and arranger.<ref name="QuinoneroYared" /> The "patchwork album" contained six tracks written by Hardy and songs written by Serge Gainsbourg, William Sheller, Catherine Lara, Luc Plamondon, Roland Vincent, and Michel Jonasz.<ref name="QuinoneroYared" /> At first Hardy's relationship with Yared was tense<ref name="QuinoneroYared" /> and ''Star'' was recorded under a "strained atmosphere", earning her the nickname "ice queen".<ref name="rfi" /><ref name="independent05" /> According to Frédéric Quinonero, "the singer deemed it necessary to immediately dispel any misunderstanding, physical or sentimental, before being integrated into a faithful friendship."<ref name="QuinoneroYared" /> ''Star'' was a commercial success that put Hardy back in the media spotlight and introduced her work to a new generation of young people.<ref name="rfi" /> Despite their stiff relationship in the recording studio, Hardy and Yared continued to work together for nearly six years and recorded five albums.<ref name="rfi" /><ref name="QuinoneroYared" /> In 1991 the singer recalled her experience of working with the producer: <blockquote> [Yared] is demanding... in work as in friendship. He had great influence over me. The five albums we made together were not easy... but I consider that it was one of the great chances of my life to find myself again under the guidance of a musician of this dimension.<ref name="QuinoneroYared" /> </blockquote>
Hardy's 1978 follow-up, ''Musique saoûle,'' included compositions by Yared, Alain Goldstein and Michel Jonasz.<ref>{{cite AV media|type=LP record|location=France|title=Musique saoûle|publisher=Pathé-Marconi|id=2C 070-14697|year=1978|author=Françoise Hardy}}</ref> The album changed Hardy's musical direction to a more danceable sound and it was a commercial success, aided by the popularity of the lead single "J'écoute de la musique saoûle", especially in its extended remixed version.<ref name="QuinoneroTonic" /> ''Musique saoûle'' was promoted through televised appearances which showed the singer "awkwardly" performing the track amid a dancing crowd.<ref name="QuinoneroTonic" /> In 1980, Yared and collaborator Bernard Ilous gave her next album, ''Gin Tonic,'' an even more commercial style.<ref name="QuinoneroTonic" /> The album cover, photographed by a collaborator from ''Façade'', a French magazine modelled after Andy Warhol's journal ''Influence,'' projected a "furiously modern" image of the singer<ref name="QuinoneroTonic" /> and ''Gin Tonic'' was promoted with the singles "Jazzy rétro Satanas" and "Juke-box".<ref name="QuinoneroTonic" /> Hardy's next album, ''À suivre,'' was released in April 1981 on the Flarenasch label, in breach of her contract with Pathé-Marconi,<ref name="QuinoneroMariage" /> and featured a new array of collaborators, with Yared enlisting composers Louis Chedid, Pierre Groscolas, Jean-Claude Vannier, Michel Bernholc, Daniel Perreau, Jean-Pierre Bourtayre, and Étienne Roda-Gil.<ref name="QuinoneroMariage" /> ''À suivre'' was promoted through the singles "Tamalou" and "Villégiature".<ref name="QuinoneroMariage" /> The next album, ''Quelqu'un qui s'en va,'' was released in the spring of 1981 and featured a cover photographed by Serge Gainsbourg.<ref name="QuinoneroSortie">Quinonero, 2017, "Fausse sortie"</ref> ''Décalages,'' released on 2 May 1988,<ref name="QuinoneroDecalages" /> was promoted as Hardy's final album. It was a commercial success and certified gold for selling 100,000 copies.<ref name="QuinoneroDecalages">Hardy, 2017, "Décalages et dérapages"</ref>
In 1990 Hardy wrote "Fais-moi une place" for Julien Clerc and the song was included on his album of the same name.<ref name="linternaute" /> Hardy resumed her music career in the 1990s, signing a contract with Virgin Records in December 1994.<ref name="linternaute" /> In 1995 Hardy collaborated with English band Blur for the French version of "To the End", recorded at Abbey Road Studios.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5sI04YpV3QC&pg=PA197|page=197|title=Abbey Road: The Best Studio in the World|access-date=13 May 2021|first=Alistair|last=Lawrence|year=2012|isbn=978-1608199990|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612072142/https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5sI04YpV3QC&pg=PA197#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> It was included as a B-side to band's single "Country House".<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Blur's Country House|author=Blur|type=CD single|location=United Kingdom|id=7243 8 82338 2 8|publisher=Parlophone|year=1995}}</ref>
=== 1996–2021: Final albums and retirement === In 1997 Hardy collaborated with French duo Air on the track "Jeanne", a B-side on their maxi-single "Sexy Boy".<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Sexy Boy|author=Air|type=CD single|location=United States|id=CAR 6645-2|publisher=Caroline Records|year=1997}}</ref>
In 2005 Hardy received the 'Female Artist of the Year' award for her album ''Tant de belles choses'' at the Victoires de la Musique. In 2006 she received the Grande médaille de la chanson française award, given by the Académie Française in recognition of her music career.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.academie-francaise.fr/grande-medaille-de-la-chanson-francaise|title=Grande médaille de la chanson française|language=French|publisher=Académie Française|access-date=12 May 2021|archive-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512153720/https://www.academie-francaise.fr/grande-medaille-de-la-chanson-francaise|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2012 Hardy celebrated her 50th anniversary in music with the release of her first novel and an album, both titled ''L'Amour fou''.<ref name=lefou/> Recently diagnosed with laryngeal cancer, the singer declared ''L'Amour fou'' to be her last album, but returned nearly five years later with the 2018 release ''Personne d'autre''.<ref name=faroutmag>Far Out Staff [http://faroutmagazine.co.uk/francoise-hardy-to-release-new-studio-album-personne-dautre/ Françoise Hardy to release new studio album "Personne d'autre"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103132318/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/francoise-hardy-to-release-new-studio-album-personne-dautre/ |date=3 November 2023 }}, ''Far Out Magazine'', Retrieved on 7 May 2018.</ref>
In March 2021, Hardy announced that she could no longer sing as a result of her cancer treatments.<ref name="parismatch21">{{cite web|url=https://www.parismatch.com/People/Francoise-Hardy-Mes-chansons-m-aidaient-a-supporter-mes-douleurs-1731052|language=French|access-date=22 May 2021|work=Paris Match|title=Françoise Hardy : "Mes chansons m'aidaient à supporter mes douleurs"|date=28 March 2021|first=Benjamin|last=Locoge|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602213815/https://www.parismatch.com/People/Francoise-Hardy-Mes-chansons-m-aidaient-a-supporter-mes-douleurs-1731052|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Acting career== [[File:Francoise hardy grand prix (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Hardy playing as Lisa in the 1966 film ''Grand Prix'']] Hardy had film roles, but did not embark on a serious career as an actress and did not wish to do so.<ref name="HardyThree" /><ref name="montanes">{{cite web|url=https://www.eldiariomontanes.es/culturas/libros/francoise-hardy-sentia-20170826153636-nt.html|language=Spanish|access-date=12 May 2021|title="Françoise Hardy sentía amor por la música pero no por exponer su intimidad"|date=27 August 2017|last=González Ruiz|first=Pilar|work=El Diario Montañés|archive-date=23 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123102532/https://www.eldiariomontanes.es/culturas/libros/francoise-hardy-sentia-20170826153636-nt.html|url-status=live}}</ref> She reluctantly accepted acting work offered to her in the 1960s on the advice of Jean-Marie Périer.<ref name="HardyThree" /> While she liked the idea of working with well-known film directors, she still preferred music over cinema.<ref name="nytimes" />
In 1963 Hardy made her film debut as Ophelia in Roger Vadim's ''Château en Suède''.<ref name="HardyThree">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Three"</ref><ref name="Deluxe58">Deluxe, 2013. p. 58</ref> Before casting her, Vadim tested Hardy's acting abilities by directing her in a reading of Cécile de Roggendorf's love letters to Giacomo Casanova.<ref name="QuinoneroActress">Quinonero, 2017, "Actrice malgré elle"</ref> During the making of ''Château en Suède'', Vadim mocked Hardy for her "infinite apathy", which marked the "beginning of her dread for filming sessions and the movie business in general".<ref name="Deluxe60" /> As promotion for the film Hardy attended the Cannes Film Festival, where she wore a black coat by Pierre Cardin.<ref name="QuinoneroActress" />
After a cameo in ''What's New Pussycat?'',<ref name="Deluxe60" /> Hardy landed a role in Jean-Daniel Pollet's 1966 film ''Une balle au cœur'', which was shot on location on a remote Greek island.<ref name="HardyThree" /> She disliked the experience, saying, "after a day or two, I realized that the director was hopelessly bad and his film was a disaster."<ref name="HardyThree" /> Building on her music career success in Italy, Hardy made appearances as a performer in ''musicarelli'' films, including ''I ragazzi dell'Hully Gully'' (1964),<ref name="ragazzi">{{Cite book|title=La canzone italiana del Novecento|last=Baldazzi|first=Gianfranco|language=Italian|page=306|publisher=Newton Compton Editori|year=1989}}</ref> ''Questo pazzo, pazzo mondo della canzone'' (1965),<ref name="questo">{{cite journal|title=Questo pazzo, pazzo mondo della canzone|year=1966|volume=27|language=Italian|page=55|journal=Bianco e Nero|publisher=Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia|location=Italy}}</ref> ''Altissima pressione'' (1965), and ''Europa canta'' (1965).<ref name="larkin">{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year=2006|isbn=978-0195313734|editor-first=Colin|editor-last=Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin|publisher=Oxford University Press|edition=4th|page=132}}</ref> She appeared in the 1968 television special ''Monte Carlo: C'est La Rose'', hosted by Grace Kelly.<ref name="larkin" />
The American director John Frankenheimer spotted Hardy as she was leaving a London club and thought she would be perfect in his Formula One film ''Grand Prix'' (1966).<ref name="HardyFour">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Four"</ref> Despite remaining uninterested in an acting career, Hardy accepted the role because it was well-paid.<ref name="QuioneroCineaste">Quinonero, 2017, "Pour la «beauté renversante» d'un cinéaste"</ref> She made a cameo in Jean-Luc Godard's 1966 film ''Masculin féminin'' wearing a head-to-toe look by André Courrèges.<ref name="godard">{{cite web|url=https://exhibitions.fitnyc.edu/paris-refashioned/masculin-feminin-and-french-youth-fashion/|access-date=12 May 2021|title=Masculin féminin and French Youth Fashion|date=3 March 2017|publisher=The Museum at FIT. Fashion Institute of Technology|archive-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512182356/https://exhibitions.fitnyc.edu/paris-refashioned/masculin-feminin-and-french-youth-fashion/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1969 she starred in the television film ''L'homme qui venait du Cher'' alongside Eddy Mitchell.<ref name="cher">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k0EWr7ye9XEC&pg=PT126|language=French|access-date=12 May 2021|title=Il faut rentrer maintenant|author-link=Eddy Mitchell|last1=Mitchell|first1=Eddy|last2=Varrod|first2=Didier|year=2012|publisher=Editions de la Martinière|isbn=978-2732451473|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612072147/https://books.google.com/books?id=k0EWr7ye9XEC&pg=PT126#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 1970s, she made brief appearances in Jean-Claude Lord's ''The Doves (Les Colombes)'' (1972)<ref name="colombes" /> and Claude Lelouch's ''If I Had to Do It All Over Again (Si c'était à refaire)'' (1976).<ref name="QuinoneroFilmography" />
==Astrological career== {{Quote box | quote = I believe this human science is restricted to offering information on one of the many factors that conditions our lives, the one connected with the rhythms of our solar system. It simply allows us to get our bearings and identify as best we can the various phases of our development, which are dependent on many more factors than just planetary cycles and configurations, and does not necessarily translate into terms of particular events and outcomes. | source = — Hardy on her distrust of most astrologers and of "predictive astrology", 2008.<ref name="HardySix" /> | width = 25% }} Hardy also developed a career as an astrologer, having written extensively on the subject. She aligned herself with the so-called "conditionalist" school of thought, outlined by Jean-Pierre Nicola in his 1964 book, ''La condition solaire,'' which proposed a non-divinatory character for the discipline and said that it should be used while taking into account other factors such as hereditary, educational, and socio-cultural determinants.<ref name="HardyAtrologia">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RtAwDwAAQBAJ|access-date=6 May 2021|last=Hardy|first=Françoise|author-link=Françoise Hardy|trans-title=La astrología universal|title=L'astrologie universelle|orig-year=1987|type=eBook|year=2007|isbn=978-8431535810|language=Spanish|location=Barcelona|publisher=De Vecchi Ediciones|chapter=Introducción|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612010044/https://books.google.com/books?id=RtAwDwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0lcMEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA103|pages=103–104|language=French|access-date=10 May 2021|title=L'astrologie: le grand voyage en soi et dans l'avenir|first=Yves|last=Lenoble|year=2020|publisher=BoD|isbn=978-2382580141|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612010049/https://books.google.com/books?id=0lcMEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA103|url-status=live}}</ref>
Hardy first became interested in the subject after consulting astrologer André Barbault in the mid-1960s.<ref name="HardySix">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Six"</ref> She took public courses, learned to draw up a birth chart and read many specialized books before meeting Catherine Aubier, who recommended her teacher to Hardy.<ref name="HardySix" /> Hardy was taught traditional astrology for two years by Madame Godefroy in Paris.<ref name="HardySix" /> She became more dedicated to astrology after meeting Nicola in 1974, who asked her to be part of a new magazine he was developing.<ref name="HardySix" /> The singer described Nicola as "the best astrologer in the world"<ref name="clash">{{cite web|url=https://www.clashmusic.com/features/another-person-fran%C3%A7oise-hardy-interviewed|access-date=6 May 2021|date=23 April 2018|first=Hayley|last=Scott|work=Clash|title=Another Person: Françoise Hardy Interviewed|archive-date=6 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506054623/https://www.clashmusic.com/features/another-person-fran%C3%A7oise-hardy-interviewed|url-status=dead}}</ref> and wrote: "[he] initiated me into an intelligent understanding of astrology and trained me to use it, by his side, to the best of my ability."<ref name="HardySix" /> Besides astrology, Hardy was initiated into the reading of the Tarot of Marseilles by Alejandro Jodorowsky.<ref name="HardyTwelve">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Twelve"</ref> As a complement to her astrological knowledge, she also took courses with graphologist Germaine Tripier, the dean of the French Society of Graphology.<ref name="HardyTwelve" />
Between recording sessions for her album ''Gin Tonic'' in 1979, Hardy collaborated on a book series on the zodiac signs by Tchou Editions, and worked on the book dedicated to Virgo<ref name="HardyEleven">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Eleven"</ref> with fellow astrologer Béatrice Guénin.<ref name="HardyEleven" /> She also collaborated with the magazine ''Quinze Ans''.<ref name="QuinoneroTonic" /> In late 1980, Hardy was asked by Pierre Lescure of the RMC radio station to provide the daily horoscope and a weekly show.<ref name="HardyEleven" /> In 1982 Hardy began a new weekly broadcast, titled ''Entre les lignes, entre les signes'', in which she interviewed a film or music figure using their birth chart, and graphologist Anne-Marie Simmond, whose courses Hardy had taken, drew up a psychological portrait using their handwriting.<ref name="HardyTwelve" /> A compilation of the interviews and profiles was published by RMC in 1986.<ref>{{cite book|title=Entre les lignes, entre les signes|author-link=Françoise Hardy|last1=Hardy|first1=Françoise|last2=Simmond|first2=Annne-Marie|language=French|publisher=RMC Edition|year=1986|location=France|isbn=978-2868550064}}</ref><ref name="independent05" />
In 1990, Hardy continued her astrological work by writing articles in Swiss newspaper ''Le Matin'' and by hosting a weekly section in Thierry Ardisson's program ''Télé Zèbre'' on Antenne 2.<ref name="QuinoneroPour">Quinonero, 2017, "Là pour personne ?"</ref> On 7 May 2003, Hardy published ''Les rythmes du zodiaque,'' which had taken over two years to write and which she intended to be "a book that would allow me to make my little contribution to modern astrology".<ref name="HardyEighteen">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Eighteen"</ref>
== Writing career == In her later years Hardy became an author of fiction and non-fiction. She also wrote an autobiography, ''Le désespoir des singes... et autres bagatelles (The Despair of Monkeys and Other Trifles),'' which was published on 9 October 2008. It sold 250,000 copies and became a bestseller in France.<ref name="ledevoir12">{{cite web |last=Cormier |first=Sylvain |date=17 November 2012 |title=Françoise Hardy, d'amour dévorée, d'amour nourrie |trans-title=Françoise Hardy, devoured by love, nourished by love |url=https://www.ledevoir.com/culture/musique/364069/francoise-hardy-d-amour-devoree-d-amour-nourrie |access-date=12 May 2021 |work=Le Devoir |language=French}}</ref> The book was translated and published in Spanish by the San Sebastián-based independent publisher Expediciones Polares in 2017.<ref name="simios">{{cite web|language=Spanish|url=https://www.efeeme.com/la-desesperacion-de-los-simios-y-otras-bagatelas-de-francoise-hardy/|date=14 March 2017|access-date=21 May 2021|first=Javier|last=De Castro|title="La desesperación de los simos... y otras bagatelas", de Françoise Hardy|publisher=Efe Eme|archive-date=13 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613114902/https://www.efeeme.com/la-desesperacion-de-los-simios-y-otras-bagatelas-de-francoise-hardy/|url-status=live}}</ref> An English-language edition, translated by Jon E. Graham, was published by Feral House in 2018.<ref name="monkeyreview">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jul/28/despair-of-monkeys-other-trifles-francoise-hardy-review|date=28 July 2018|access-date=12 May 2021|first=Anthony|last=Quinn|title=The Despair of Monkeys and Other Trifles review – Françoise Hardy's memoir|work=The Guardian|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612012534/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jul/28/despair-of-monkeys-other-trifles-francoise-hardy-review|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Françoise Hardy 2012 c.jpg|thumb|left|Hardy presenting her first novel ''L'amour fou'' in Paris, November 2012]] In 2012 Hardy published her first novel, ''L'amour fou,'' on Éditions Albin Michel. It was released in conjunction with a music album of the same name.<ref name="lapresse">{{cite news|url=https://www.lapresse.ca/arts/musique/entrevues/201211/21/01-4596063-francoise-hardy-comment-tecrire-adieu.php|title=Françoise Hardy : comment t'écrire adieu...|access-date=21 May 2021|work=La Presse|language=French|first=Marie-Christine|last=Blais|date=21 November 2012|archive-date=21 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521044417/https://www.lapresse.ca/arts/musique/entrevues/201211/21/01-4596063-francoise-hardy-comment-tecrire-adieu.php|url-status=live}}</ref> She had begun working on the story, which dealt with an obsessive romantic relationship, thirty years before<ref name="lapresse" /> but had shelved the manuscript and had not intended to release it. She was urged to do so by her editor and agreed after being encouraged by her friend, Jean-Marie Périer.<ref name="avisfigaro">{{cite web|url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/musique/2012/11/09/03006-20121109ARTFIG00244-francoise-hardy-je-suis-une-angoissee.php|title=Françoise Hardy : " Je suis une angoissée "|access-date=21 May 2021|work=Le Figaro|first1=Pierre|last1=De Boishue|last2=Nuc|first2=Olivier|date=9 November 2012|language=French|archive-date=21 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521051421/https://www.lefigaro.fr/musique/2012/11/09/03006-20121109ARTFIG00244-francoise-hardy-je-suis-une-angoissee.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Hardy felt it was appropriate to publish the book to mark the fiftieth year of her musical career, as it told "the story that has been the matrix of almost all of my lyrics from the start".<ref name="avisfigaro" /> In 2013 an Italian-language edition of the novel was released by Florence's Edizioni Clichy.<ref>{{cite book|isbn=978-8867990214|year=2013|orig-year=2012|trans-title=L'amour fou|language=Italian|location=Florence|publisher=Edizioni Clichy|title=L'amore folle|author-link=Françoise Hardy|first=Françoise|last=Hardy|translator-last1=Conti|translator-first1=Antonella}}</ref>
Following poor sales of the albums ''La pluie sans parapluie'' and ''L'Amour fou'', Hardy decided to distance herself from music and dedicate herself to writing.<ref name="avisnon">{{cite web|url=https://www.parismatch.com/People/Musique/Message-personnel-de-Francoise-Hardy-720438|access-date=21 May 2021|language=French|work=Paris Match|date=3 August 2015|title=Message personnel de Françoise Hardy|first=Marie-France|last=Chatrier|archive-date=21 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521043114/https://www.parismatch.com/People/Musique/Message-personnel-de-Francoise-Hardy-720438|url-status=live}}</ref> This resulted in the essay ''Avis non autorisés'' ''(Unauthorised Opinions)'', released in 2015 on Éditions des Équateurs, in which she described the difficulties of reaching old age.<ref name="avisnon" /><ref name="avispoint">{{cite web |last=Mirande |first=Jean-Noël |date=3 April 2015 |title=Les vérités nues de Françoise Hardy |trans-title=Françoise Hardy's naked truths |url=https://www.lepoint.fr/culture/les-verites-nues-de-francoise-hardy-04-03-2015-1909777_3.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521043115/https://www.lepoint.fr/culture/les-verites-nues-de-francoise-hardy-04-03-2015-1909777_3.php |archive-date=21 May 2021 |access-date=21 May 2021 |work=Le Point |language=French}}</ref> In this book she also shared views on current affairs which were deemed "politically incorrect".<ref name="avisnon" /> ''Avis non autorisés'' was a commercial success.<ref name="figaroavis" /> A year later, she published ''Un cadeau du ciel (A Present from Heaven),'' in which she reflected on her hospitalization in March 2015 for cancer during which she nearly died.<ref name="figaroavis">{{cite web|url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/livres/2016/10/17/03005-20161017ARTFIG00258-francoise-hardy-se-livre-sur-sa-maladie.php|language=French|access-date=12 May 2021|work=Le Figaro|date=17 October 2016|title=Françoise Hardy se livre sur sa maladie|first=Mohammed|last=Aïssaoui|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612072217/https://www.lefigaro.fr/livres/2016/10/17/03005-20161017ARTFIG00258-francoise-hardy-se-livre-sur-sa-maladie.php|url-status=live}}</ref> In the early 2020s, after being unable to continue singing, and claiming that she had "nothing else to do", Hardy dedicated herself assembling a song book, ''Chansons sur toi et nous,'' a compilation of all of her lyrics with commentaries. ''Chansons sur toi et nous'' was published in 2021 on Éditions des Équateurs.<ref name="ledevoir21" />
==Artistry== ===Musical style=== {{Quote box | quote = The inspiration for my lyrics came, in part, from my anxieties. In many songs, I have mentioned my fear of not being up to the task and of being left for a woman ''a priori'' a thousand times more interesting and more attractive than me. A fear that is not necessarily unfounded... | source = — Hardy, ''L'Express'', 2013.<ref name="anxiety">{{cite web|url=https://www.lexpress.fr/styles/psycho/l-anxiete-pour-francoise-hardy-j-y-puise-en-partie-mon-inspiration_1251314.html|title=L'anxiété pour Françoise Hardy: "J'y puise en partie mon inspiration"|language=French|work=L'Express|first1=Delphine|last1=Peras|first2=Marion|last2=Guérin|first3=Christophe|last3=Carrière|date=23 May 2013|access-date=12 May 2021|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612072144/https://www.lexpress.fr/styles/bien-etre/psycho/l-anxiete-pour-francoise-hardy-j-y-puise-en-partie-mon-inspiration_1251314.html|url-status=live}}</ref> | width = 25% }} Although Hardy's music covered a wide range of genres, she maintained a signature sound from the beginning of her career<ref name="glide">{{cite web|url=https://glidemagazine.com/152060/french-songstress-francoise-hardy-gets-reissue-treatment-album-review/|title=French Songstress Françoise Hardy Gets Reissue Treatment (ALBUM REVIEW)|last=Ferguson|first=Maeri|work=Glide Magazine |date=13 November 2015|access-date=15 May 2021|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515073447/https://glidemagazine.com/152060/french-songstress-francoise-hardy-gets-reissue-treatment-album-review/|url-status=live}}</ref> which was defined by breathy alto vocals<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|access-date=6 May 2021|title=Françoise Hardy|last=Jurek|first=Thom|publisher=AllMusic|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/fran%C3%A7oise-hardy-mn0000186594/biography|archive-date=7 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507122007/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/fran%C3%A7oise-hardy-mn0000186594/biography|url-status=live}}</ref> and a predilection for melancholic songs.<ref name="popmatters">{{cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/francoise-hardy-essay-2569397045.html|access-date=10 May 2021|publisher=PopMatters|title=Capricorn vs. Cancer: The Story of French Singer-songwriter Françoise Hardy|date=17 May 2018|last=Marie|first=Brett|archive-date=10 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510175417/https://www.popmatters.com/francoise-hardy-essay-2569397045.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="QuinoneroTete">Quinonero, 2017, "« es chansons plein la tête»"</ref> ''Rock & Folk''{{'}}s Basile Farkas described her as the "queen of melancholy",<ref name="rocknfolk">{{cite web|url=https://www.rocknfolk.com/interview/francoise-hardy-les-guitares-electriques-planantes-cest-ce-dont-jai-reve-toute-ma-vie/4087|language=French|access-date=15 May 2021|last=Farkas|first=Basile|date=20 May 2018|work=Rock & Folk|title=Les guitares électriques planantes, c'est ce dont j'ai rêvé toute ma vie|archive-date=16 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516062953/https://www.rocknfolk.com/interview/francoise-hardy-les-guitares-electriques-planantes-cest-ce-dont-jai-reve-toute-ma-vie/4087|url-status=live}}</ref> and Hardy herself stated in 2012: "In music, I like above all the slow, sad melodies... Not in a way that plunges, but in a way that uplifts... I still aspire to find the heartbreaking melody that will bring tears to my eyes. A melody whose quality gives it a sacred dimension."<ref name="QuinoneroTete" /> Cosette Schulz of ''Exclaim!'' described her as a "master of crafting simple but stellar tracks".<ref name="exclaim" /> Writers have likened Hardy's music to that of English singer Marianne Faithfull.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hm5OCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT15|access-date=11 May 2021|title=Brit Girls of the Sixties Volume Two: Marianne Faithfull & Kathy Kirby|first=David|last=Bret|author-link=David Bret|year=2014|isbn=978-1291801408|publisher=Lulu.com}}</ref> Comparing both singers, ''The Guardian''{{'}}s Keith Altham wrote in 2014: "They both sing sad songs with a simple folksy style. They both have the same shy, wistful, almost waif-like appeal about them. They both have a dramatic, 'all-alone' quality about their voices which commands sympathy and attention."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/aug/20/marianne-faithfull-more-of-beatles-than-a-stones-fan-classic-interview|title=Marianne Faithfull: 'I'm more of a Beatles than a Stones fan' – a classic interview|last=Altham|first=Keith|access-date=17 May 2021|date=20 August 2014|work=The Guardian|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612010647/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/aug/20/marianne-faithfull-more-of-beatles-than-a-stones-fan-classic-interview|url-status=live}}</ref>
Aside from original compositions, much of her 1960s repertoire consisted of versions of foreign artists that spanned a wide range of styles, including American girl-groups, early rockabilly, pre-Beatles British rock and roll, country music, folk, folk-rock and, to a lesser extent, doo-wop and soul.<ref name="originales" /> The recurring themes of her lyrics are sadness, personal pain, heartache, one-sided love, sleeplessness, boredom, loneliness, and confinement.<ref name="QuinoneroRouge" /><ref name="popmatters" /> Her deadpan delivery, characterized by its "cool, aloof air", has also been compared to that of German singer Nico.<ref name="blurt">{{cite web |last=Kopp |first=Bill |date=14 October 2014 |title=BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE FRANCOPHILES: Françoise Hardy |url=https://blurtonline.com/feature/beyond-the-valley-of-the-francophiles-francoise-hardy/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505152753/https://blurtonline.com/feature/beyond-the-valley-of-the-francophiles-francoise-hardy/ |archive-date=5 May 2021 |access-date=16 May 2021 |work=Blurt}}</ref> thumb|Hardy in 1965|172x172px
Hardy was known for being meticulous about her music, such as her decision to leave low-quality French studios for higher-quality studios in London.<ref name="Deluxe60" /> As she matured, Hardy honed her own despairing songwriting, but she also chose from the works of leading professionals.<ref name="sixties" /> Producer Erick Benzi recalled: "From when she was 18, she knew she was different. She was capable of going in front of big artists like Charles Aznavour and saying, 'Your song is crap, I don't want to sing it.' She never made compromises."<ref name="uncut" /> Tony Cox recalled his experience working with Hardy: "Françoise was good in that she liked things to be slightly more adventurous than the norm. There was a bit of the Left Bank{{refn|group=note|name=Left Bank}} about her – she's not your average pop singer, that's for sure."<ref name="uncut" /><ref name="ledevoir21">{{cite web |last=Cormier |first=Sylvain |date=15 May 2021 |title="Chansons sur toi et nous": les mots de la parolière |trans-title="Songs about you and us": the lyricist's words |url=https://www.ledevoir.com/lire/601112/chansons-sur-toi-et-nous-les-mots-de-la-paroliere |access-date=30 May 2021 |work=Le Devoir |language=French}}</ref>
Although she is regarded as one of the greatest exponents of yé-yé, she was apart from her peers in writing much of her own material.<ref name="originales" /><ref name="npr" /> She was also known for downplaying her skills as a singer and musician.<ref name="internautes">{{cite web |last=Ollivier |first=Stéphane |date=7 July 2000 |title=L'interview des internautes : Françoise Hardy |trans-title=The internet users' interview: Françoise Hardy |url=https://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/linterview-des-internautes-francoise-hardy-98657-07-07-2000/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510143831/https://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/linterview-des-internautes-francoise-hardy-98657-07-07-2000/ |archive-date=10 May 2021 |access-date=8 May 2021 |work=Les Inrockuptibles |language=French}}</ref> Her compositions became less frequent, as she told ''Rock & Folk'' in 2018: "I understood that even if I did learn things, I would never be able to do as well as real melodists. That's why I thought it was best to bring in musicians whose work touched me."<ref name="rocknfolk" />
=== Influences === Her earliest musical tastes were French ''chanson'' singers, including Cora Vaucaire, Georges Guétary, Charles Trenet, and Jacques Brel, since in the 1950s this was the only music played on the radio.<ref name="allmusic" /><ref name="melodides">{{cite web |last=Norot |first=Anne-Claire |date=7 July 2000 |title=Françoise Hardy : ses mélodies du bonheur |url=https://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/francoise-hardy-ses-melodies-du-bonheur-98659-07-07-2000/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508234645/https://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/francoise-hardy-ses-melodies-du-bonheur-98659-07-07-2000/ |archive-date=8 May 2021 |access-date=8 May 2021 |work=Les Inrockuptibles |language=French}}</ref><ref name="radio" /> She said that Trenet touched her more than the others because his music was "sad and light".<ref>{{cite web |last=Médioni |first=Gilles |date=21 November 2011 |title=Le musée imaginaire de Françoise Hardy |url=https://www.lexpress.fr/culture/musique/le-musee-imaginaire-de-francoise-hardy_1189809.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508232040/https://www.lexpress.fr/culture/musique/le-musee-imaginaire-de-francoise-hardy_1189809.html |archive-date=8 May 2021 |access-date=8 May 2021 |work=L'Express |language=French}}</ref> Hardy was also a big fan of singer and songwriter Barbara, who had inspired her to write her own compositions.<ref name="uncut" /> In the early 1960s, she was introduced to English-language rock and roll and Brill Building pop through Radio Luxembourg and took inspiration from artists such as Brenda Lee,<ref name="vie" /> the Everly Brothers, the Shadows, Cliff Richard, Neil Sedaka, Connie Francis, and especially Elvis Presley and Paul Anka.<ref name="allmusic" /><ref name="Deluxe57">Deluxe, 2013. p. 57</ref><ref name="melodides" /><ref name="life">{{cite web |last=Moreland |first=Quinn |date=15 October 2020 |title=French Icon Françoise Hardy on the Music of Her Life |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/5-10-15-20/french-icon-francoise-hardy-on-the-music-of-her-life/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427230731/https://pitchfork.com/features/5-10-15-20/french-icon-francoise-hardy-on-the-music-of-her-life/ |archive-date=27 April 2021 |access-date=27 April 2021 |publisher=Pitchfork}}</ref> Hardy said she was "completely spellbound" by these young foreign artists and began to sing and play the guitar to try to imitate them.<ref name="radio" /> She recalled in 2008: "I immediately identified with them, because they expressed teenage loneliness and awkwardness, over melodies that were much more inspiring than their lyrics".<ref name="Hardy Two" />
Hardy's music during the second half of the decade incorporated influences from the British Invasion pop phenomenon and "a strong comeback of the traditional values of French ''chanson'', neither yé-yé nor 'Left Bank',{{refn|group=note|name=Left Bank|The "Left Bank" scene—named after the left bank of the Seine—was a subgenre of French ''chanson'' that emerged in the 1940s, characterized by its stripped-down sound and "emphasis on poetic craftsmanship".<ref>{{cite book|access-date=31 May 2021|pages=93–94|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1KLrkA9LoIoC&pg=PA93|title=Music and the Elusive Revolution: Cultural Politics and Political Culture in France, 1968–1981|first=Eric|last=Drott|publisher=University of California Press|year=2011|isbn=978-0520268975|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612010652/https://books.google.com/books?id=1KLrkA9LoIoC&pg=PA93#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>}} but rather romantic".<ref name="QuinoneroFleur">Quinonero, 2017, "«La plus belle des fleurs de ton jardin»"</ref> Her 1964 album ''Mon amie la rose'' incorporated influences of Phil Spector's Wall of Sound technique,<ref name="dois" /> as well as Italian composer Ennio Morricone.<ref name="p4kreviews" /> Brazilian guitarist and arranger Tuca, introduced Hardy to bossa nova, which culminated to the 1971 album ''La Question''.<ref name="telerama16" /><ref name="franceinter">{{cite web |last1=Varrod |first1=Didier |date=16 July 2016 |title=Comment te dire Hardy |url=https://www.franceinter.fr/emissions/comment-te-dire-hardy/comment-te-dire-hardy-16-juillet-2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161028022834/https://www.franceinter.fr/emissions/comment-te-dire-hardy/comment-te-dire-hardy-16-juillet-2016 |archive-date=28 October 2016 |access-date=27 October 2016 |publisher=France Inter |language=fr}}</ref>
Hardy was an admirer of English folk singer-songwriter Nick Drake.<ref name="nickdrake">{{cite book |last=Humphries |first=Patrick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gu8xvkUc91cC&pg=PT190 |title=Nick Drake: The Biography |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2012 |isbn=978-1408841440 |access-date=11 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612010655/https://books.google.com/books?id=Gu8xvkUc91cC&pg=PT190#v=onepage&q&f=false |archive-date=12 June 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> She recalled: "For me, he didn't belong to a particularly British tradition... It is the soul which comes out of his songs that touched me deeply – romantic, poetic... but also the refined melodies. As well as the very individual timbre of his voice, which adds to the melancholy of the whole thing."<ref name="nickdrake" /> Their personalities, voices, and tastes in chords and harmony were perceived to be similar.<ref name="uncut" />
In 1972, Véronique Sanson's debut album made an impression on Hardy, who began to feel that her own music was outdated.<ref name="life" /> She described her impression of Sanson in her autobiography: "It was as if the English and American influences that yé-yé had been happy to simply copy... had been thoroughly digested and allowed for the emergence of something much more musically mature, as well as more personal."<ref name="HardyEight" /> Hardy's 1996 output ''Le danger'' incorporated influences from English band Portishead<ref name="allmusic" /> and the grunge, Britpop, and roots rock genres.<ref name="LeDanger" /><ref name="telerama16" />
===Development=== ====1962–1967==== {{Listen | format = Ogg | filename = J'suis d'accord.ogg | title = "J'suis d'accord" (1962) | description = Hardy's debut studio album ''Tous les garçons et les filles'', framed within the yé-yé genre, is noted for its rockabilly-tinged, minimalist sound.<ref name="p4kreviews"/><ref name="yehyeh"/> The singer repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the production of her early work.<ref name="clash"/> | filename2 = La maison où j'ai grandi.ogg | title2 = "La maison où j'ai grandi" (1966) | description2 = Starting in the mid-1960s, Hardy moved to London to record several albums, among them ''La maison où j'ai grandi''.<ref name="exclaim"/> This resulted in lusher and more complex productions,<ref name="uncut"/><ref name="dois"/> progressively abandoning the influences of rock music to explore the baroque pop style and incorporate Phil Spector's Wall of Sound technique.<ref name="blurt"/> }}
Hardy's rockabilly-tinged, full-length debut album ''Tous les garçons et les filles'' was the closest she came to the yé-yé genre. The album was noted for its simple, minimalist accompaniment of acoustic and electric guitar, bass, and jazz-influenced percussion.<ref name="p4kreviews"/><ref name="yehyeh">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-yeh-yeh-girl-from-paris-mw0000385568|publisher=AllMusic|title=The Yeh-Yeh Girl from Paris – Françoise Hardy|first=Stewart|last=Mason|access-date=14 May 2021|archive-date=13 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513165924/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-yeh-yeh-girl-from-paris-mw0000385568|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="dois"/> Her next album, ''Le premier bonheur du jour,'' incorporated more complex instrumentation and lyricism,<ref name="exclaim">{{cite web|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/francoise_hardy-tous_les_garcons_et_les_filles_le_premier_bonheur_du_jour_mon_amie_la_rose_lamitie_la_maison_ou_jai_grandi|access-date=15 May 2021|title=Françoise Hardy – Tous les garçons et les filles / Le premier bonheur du jour / Mon amie la rose / L'Amitié / La maison où j'ai grandi|date=14 October 2015|work=Exclaim!|first=Cosette|last=Schulz|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515074500/https://exclaim.ca/music/article/francoise_hardy-tous_les_garcons_et_les_filles_le_premier_bonheur_du_jour_mon_amie_la_rose_lamitie_la_maison_ou_jai_grandi|url-status=live}}</ref> with electric organs and "weeping" string arrangements<ref name="dois"/> and included compositions inspired by jazz music and American girl groups such as the Crystals and the Ronettes.<ref name="p4kreviews"/>
In the mid-1960s, her music became lusher and richer<ref name="uncut"/> after she moved to London to record with arranger Charles Blackwell, who allowed her to "reach new levels of sophistication."<ref name="Deluxe60"/> The album ''Mon amie la rose,'' released in 1964, revealed a growing complexity in her music, with stronger vocals and increased experimentation in song structure.<ref name="exclaim"/><ref name="blurt"/> Hardy's 1965-66 output showed her style maturing, with productions that "moved from the tinny sound of yeh-yeh pop into a fuller brand of rock arrangements."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-vogue-years-mw0000461878|title=The Vogue Years – Françoise Hardy|first=John|last=Bush|access-date=14 May 2021|publisher=AllMusic|archive-date=14 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514175437/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-vogue-years-mw0000461878|url-status=live}}</ref> The overall sound of her follow-up album, ''L'amitié,'' was considerably more expansive.<ref name="bestfit">{{cite web|url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/articlestrack-by-track/francoise-hardy-reissues|work=The Line of Best Fit|access-date=16 May 2021|date=23 February 2016|title=The fleeting voice of a generation: Françoise Hardy's first five albums reassessed|last=Hayley|first=Scott|archive-date=16 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516063437/https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/articlestrack-by-track/francoise-hardy-reissues|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Pitchfork's Hazel Cills: "It wasn't until her fifth record, ''La maison où j'ai grandi,'' that Hardy grew into a more grown-up, baroque sound, one that matched the depth of her sorrow and its complexities."<ref name="p4kreviews"/> Warfield considered that this was the album in which she had "really settled into her sound, giving us a glimpse of the performer we can still recognise as a 70-year-old".<ref name="dois"/> With ''Ma jeunesse fout le camp'', her last 1960s album recorded in London, she "moved toward a more adult, sedate form of orchestrated pop balladry"<ref name="mjflc">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/ma-jeunesse-fout-le-camp-mw0000455346|title=Ma Jeunesse Fout Le Camp – Françoise Hardy|access-date=14 May 2021|first=Richie|last=Unterberger|publisher=AllMusic|author-link=Richie Unterberger|archive-date=7 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507180645/https://www.allmusic.com/album/ma-jeunesse-fout-le-camp-mw0000455346|url-status=live}}</ref> which has been described as "her farewell to the yé-yé years".<ref name="trodaec">{{cite web |last=Trodaec |first=Michel |date=8 April 2020 |title=Les trésors de nos discothèques. Françoise Hardy a chanté tant de belles choses |trans-title=The treasures of our record collections. Françoise Hardy sang so many beautiful things. |url=https://www.ouest-france.fr/culture/musiques/les-tresors-de-nos-discotheques-francoise-hardy-chante-tant-de-belles-choses-6803149 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602213817/https://www.ouest-france.fr/culture/musiques/les-tresors-de-nos-discotheques-francoise-hardy-chante-tant-de-belles-choses-6803149 |archive-date=2 June 2021 |access-date=30 May 2021 |work=Ouest-France |language=French}}</ref>
==== 1968–1974 ==== {{Listen |format=Ogg |title="Bâti mon nid" (1971) |filename=Bâti mon nid.ogg |description=Considered an important turning point in Hardy's career, cult album ''La question'' introduced a more personal and less commercial sound.<ref name="rfi"/><ref name="telerama16" /> Working with Brazilian musician Tuca, it is noted for its bossa nova influence, delicate production, and sensual tone.<ref name="allmusicquestion"/><ref name="mortality"/> |title2="Première rencontre" (1973) |filename2=Première rencontre.ogg |description2=Admiring his work with Veronique Sanson, Hardy worked with producer Michel Berger on the 1973 album ''Message personnel'', noted for its mature style.<ref name="HardyEight"/> Berger ushered in a new wave of French ''variétés'',{{refn|group=note|In music journalism, the term "''variétés''" — also known as "French variety" — <ref>{{cite book|title=The Cambridge Companion to French Music|page=285|first=Simon|last=Trezise|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2015|isbn=978-0511843242}}</ref> is used to differentiate the majority of French popular music from rock and the "more serious" ''chanson'' genre.<ref name="Briggs152">Briggs, 2015, p. 152</ref>}} characterized by the influence English-language pop music, the incorporation of classical music elements, and its singular, rhythmic phrasing.<ref name="QuinoneroVI"/>}} With Hardy's return to French recording studios 1968's ''Comment te dire adieu'' was more MOR-oriented than her previous releases.<ref name="ctda">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/comment-te-dire-adieu-mw0000745282|title=Comment Te Dire Adieu – Françoise Hardy|access-date=14 May 2021|first=Richie|last=Unterberger|publisher=AllMusic|author-link=Richie Unterberger|archive-date=13 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513000744/https://www.allmusic.com/album/comment-te-dire-adieu-mw0000745282|url-status=live}}</ref> Richie Unterberger considered its music to be "perhaps even sadder and more sentimental" than usual.<ref name="ctda"/> As the yé-yé era faded away following the May 68 protests in France, Hardy "reinvented herself as an elusive folk-rock/jazz ''chanteuse''" with her early 1970s releases.<ref name="mattjames">{{cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/179429-francoise-hardy-message-personnel-40th-anniversary-edition-2495683722.html|title=Françoise Hardy: Message Personnel (40th Anniversary Edition)|access-date=11 May 2021|publisher=PopMatters|last=James|first=Matt|date=21 March 2014|archive-date=11 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511133658/https://www.popmatters.com/179429-francoise-hardy-message-personnel-40th-anniversary-edition-2495683722.html|url-status=live}}</ref> She developed a more mature, less-pop oriented style to reflect more of her inner.<ref name="rfi"/> Described as "the first truly personal Françoise Hardy record",<ref name="monroe"/> the 1971 album ''La question,'' moving toward a less commercial sound with no apparent hooks, was regarded as an important turning point in her career.<ref name="telerama16">{{cite web|url=http://www.telerama.fr/musique/francoise-hardy-en-question,140803.php|title=Françoise Hardy en question|last1=Rigoulet|first1=Laurent|date=9 April 2016|work=Télérama|publisher=Groupe Le Monde|access-date=25 October 2016|language=fr|archive-date=26 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026080152/http://www.telerama.fr/musique/francoise-hardy-en-question,140803.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://elpais.com/elpais/2013/02/15/gente/1360951854_946751.html|title=La 'chanson' de la musa madura|last1=Galán|first1=Lola|date=15 February 2013|work=El País|publisher=Ediciones El País, S.L.|access-date=27 October 2016|language=es|quote=Atrás quedan los temas de su primera etapa, cancioncillas pegadizas de las que abomina. Hasta ''La question'', de 1971, a partir de la cual se inicia una segunda época de la que sí está orgullosa.|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612012528/https://elpais.com/elpais/2013/02/15/gente/1360951854_946751.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It was one of her sparsest efforts, with subdued and acoustic-flavored arrangements featuring guitar, touches of bass and subtle orchestration.<ref name="originales"/><ref name="allmusicquestion">{{cite web| author-link=Richie Unterberger| url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/la-question-mw0000473522| last=Unterberger| first=Richie| title=La Question – Françoise Hardy| publisher=AllMusic| access-date=4 May 2014| archive-date=29 July 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729073948/http://www.allmusic.com/album/la-question-mw0000473522| url-status=live}}</ref> Hardy's vocals have been described as "sultry" and "breathy", at times "[substituting] melodic humming in the place of singing, wordlessly articulating the emotional essence of the song."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musthear.com/music/reviews/francoise-hardy/la-question/|title=Françoise Hardy – La question|last=Ballon|first=John|date=6 October 2008|publisher=MustHear|access-date=10 November 2016|archive-date=11 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111200219/http://www.musthear.com/music/reviews/francoise-hardy/la-question/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''La question'' was also first time that Hardy had a part in choosing the string arrangements for her work.<ref name="HardySeven">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Seven"</ref>
Following ''La question'', Hardy progressed to a more folk and rock-influenced sound.<ref name="QuinoneroRouge">Quinonero, 2017, "Le rouge et l'orange"</ref> This led producer Joe Boyd to suggest that Nick Drake write an album of songs for Hardy, to be produced by Tony Cox.<ref name="uncut">{{cite web|url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/francoise-hardy-interviewed-head-im-still-young-105862/|title=Françoise Hardy interviewed: "In my head I'm still very young"|access-date=9 May 2021|first=Tom|last=Pinnock|work=Uncut|date=15 June 2018|archive-date=9 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509061403/https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/francoise-hardy-interviewed-head-im-still-young-105862/|url-status=live}}</ref> The two singers met several times, including a visit by Drake to Hardy's recording sessions in London, but the project was never carried out.<ref name="uncut"/><ref name="nickdrake"/> Cox was keen to work with Hardy, and in late 1971 recorded ''If You Listen'', which featured a "crack team" of British folk-rock musicians.<ref name="uncut"/> Influenced by Drake,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2020/02/28/the-lagniappe-sessions-yann-tiersen/|title=The Lagniappe Sessions: Yann Tiersen|access-date=15 May 2021|date=28 February 2020|publisher=Aquarium Drunkard|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515185819/https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2020/02/28/the-lagniappe-sessions-yann-tiersen/|url-status=live}}</ref> the album featured "cinematic" arrangements that emphasized acoustic guitar and light strings.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/if-you-listen-mw0000462501|title=If You Listen – Françoise Hardy|author-link=Richie Unterberger|last=Unterberger|first=Richie|access-date=14 May 2021|publisher=AllMusic|archive-date=14 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514171245/https://www.allmusic.com/album/if-you-listen-mw0000462501|url-status=live}}</ref> In the same year, Hardy released ''Et si je m'en vais avant toi'', which incorporated influences from American blues, folk, and rock music<ref name="QuinoneroRouge"/><ref name="orangenightfall">{{cite web|author=Waltersmoke|date=31 May 2014|title=Françoise HARDY – Et Si Je M'en Vais Avant Toi (1972)|url=http://fp.nightfall.fr/index_6784_franoise-hardy-et-si-je-m-en-vais-avant-toi.html|publisher=Forces Parallèles. Nightfall.fr|language=French|access-date=27 May 2021|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612012437/http://fp.nightfall.fr/index_6784_franoise-hardy-et-si-je-m-en-vais-avant-toi.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and featured, unusually, a slightly humorous tone and catchier rhythms.<ref name="QuinoneroRouge"/>
Hardy enlisted Michel Berger, the producer of Véronique Sanson's debut album, to oversee production of her 1973 album ''Message personnel.''<ref name="HardyEight"/> The album featured arrangements by Michel Bernholc, who directed "a basic rock band backed by a lush set of strings, [underlining] Hardy's wispy yet compelling vocals."<ref name="mpr">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/message-personnel-mw0000728077|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=14 May 2021|title=Message Personnel – Françoise Hardy|first=Thom|last=Jurek|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612072647/https://www.allmusic.com/album/message-personnel-mw0000728077|url-status=live}}</ref> The album had a sad, introspective mood and "classy, adult tone".<ref name="mattjames"/> The 1974 release ''Entr'acte'' was Hardy's first attempt at a concept album, with lyrics that narrated "the successive phases of a one-night stand between a stranger and a young woman, who, abandoned by the man she loves, is looking to give him a taste of his own medicine."<ref name="HardyNine">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Nine"</ref> It featured orchestral arrangements by Del Newman, who had recently worked on Elton John's ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'' and Cat Stevens' ''Tea for the Tillerman''.<ref name="HardyNine"/>
==== 1975–2018 ==== 1977's ''Star,'' a ''jazz-oriented pop'' record, was Hardy's first album to be arranged by Gabriel Yared, who produced her output for the next ten years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fp.nightfall.fr/index_6929_franoise-hardy-star.html|language=French|access-date=27 May 2021|title=Françoise HARDY – Star (1977)|author=Waltersmoke|publisher=Forces Parallèles. Nightfall.fr|date=18 July 2014|archive-date=27 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210527030741/http://fp.nightfall.fr/index_6929_franoise-hardy-star.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1978, as disco dominated the music industry, Yared sought to adapt her sound to the era with the release of ''Musique saoûle'', which incorporated rhythms influenced by funk music.<ref name="QuinoneroTonic">Quinonero, 2017, "Saoule au gin-tonic"</ref> The singer said later that she had felt uncomfortable and embarrassed when singing over dance rhythms.<ref name="QuinoneroTonic"/> The 1988 album ''Décalages,'' noted for its layered, atmospheric sound,<ref name="ledangerrocks">{{cite web|url=https://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/track-of-confinement-9-le-danger-de-francoise-hardy-147752-26-03-2020/|language=French|work=Les Inrockuptibles|title=Track of confinement #9 : Le Danger, de Françoise Hardy|date=26 March 2020|first=Franck|last=Vergeade|access-date=26 May 2021|archive-date=27 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210527023538/https://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/track-of-confinement-9-le-danger-de-francoise-hardy-147752-26-03-2020/|url-status=live}}</ref> incorporated the use of a Synclavier synthesizer, despite the singer's wishes to avoid fashionable digital sounds in favor of an acoustic style.<ref name="HardyThirteen"/>
In 1996, inspired by the alternative rock scene, Hardy veered into an assertive, guitar-oriented, modern rock style with ''Le danger'', her first album in seven years.<ref name="allmusic"/><ref name="LeDanger">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/le-danger-mw0000610510|author-link=Richie Unterberger|last=Unterberger|first=Richie|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=10 May 2021|title=Le Danger – Françoise Hardy|archive-date=9 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509091056/https://www.allmusic.com/album/le-danger-mw0000610510|url-status=live}}</ref> Pitchfork's Jazz Monroe described its music as "adult-contemporary space rock".<ref name="monroe"/> The album's harsh sound and lyrics reflect the "very dark" period the singer was in at the time.<ref name="internautes"/> The commercial failure of ''Le danger'', among other reasons, caused Hardy to return to her earlier soft and light style for the next album, ''Clair-obscur'', released in 2000,<ref name="internautes"/> and her final five albums were characterized by an elegant and melancholic sound.<ref name="trodaec"/> 2006's ''(Parenthèses...)'' was a collection of twelve duets with production that kept tricks and slick mixing to a minimum, drawing comparisons to previous uncluttered releases such as ''La question''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/parenth%C3%A8ses-mw0000771851|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=23 May 2021|title=Parenthèses – Françoise Hardy|last=McClintock|first=J. Scott|archive-date=23 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523200637/https://www.allmusic.com/album/parenth%C3%A8ses-mw0000771851|url-status=live}}</ref>
Compared to previous albums, 2010's ''La pluie sans parapluie'' featured a "sunnier" sound, with some of its songs driven by a rhythm track of drums and bass rather than piano or strings.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/la-pluie-sans-parapluie-mw0001969720|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=23 May 2021|title=La Pluie Sans Parapluie – Françoise Hardy|last=Prunes|first=Mariano|archive-date=23 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523200638/https://www.allmusic.com/album/la-pluie-sans-parapluie-mw0001969720|url-status=live}}</ref> Her 2012 album ''L'amour fou'' featured half-sung, half-spoken vocals and had a "resigned, philosophical" mood,<ref name="lefou">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/apr/11/francoise-hardy-amour-fou-review|title=Françoise Hardy: L'Amour Fou – review|access-date=13 May 2015|work=The Guardian|first=Caroline|last=Sullivan|date=11 April 2013|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612072659/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/apr/11/francoise-hardy-amour-fou-review|url-status=live}}</ref> with "classy" pianos, minor chords and brushed drums as backing.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-francoise-hardy-l-amour-fou-emi-8571960.html|access-date=13 May 2021|title=Album: Françoise Hardy, L'Amour Fou (EMI)|date=13 April 2013|first=Simon|last=Price|work=The Independent|archive-date=13 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513045612/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-francoise-hardy-l-amour-fou-emi-8571960.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The lyrics of her last album, ''Personne d'autre'', released in 2018, dealt with her advancing years and her own mortality. She had survived a major health crisis since the release of her previous record,<ref name="monroe">{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/francoise-hardy-personne-dautre/|title=Françoise Hardy: Personne d'autre Album Review|first=Jazz|last=Monroe|access-date=10 May 2021|publisher=Pitchfork|archive-date=11 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511211858/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/francoise-hardy-personne-dautre/|url-status=live}}</ref> and the vocal performances on the album were affected by her illness.<ref name="allmusicpersonne" /> The dark, lyrical subject matter of ''Personne d'autre'' contrasted with the singer's earlier delicate and intimate sound.<ref name="monroe" /><ref name="allmusicpersonne">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/personne-dautre-mw0003160885|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=23 May 2021|title=Personne d'Autre – Françoise Hardy|first=Thom|last=Jurek|archive-date=23 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523200637/https://www.allmusic.com/album/personne-dautre-mw0003160885|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Live performances == thumb|left|upright|Hardy performing in 1968 On 11 May 1962, Hardy made her debut as a live performer alongside other young singers at the Disco Revue gala in Nancy.<ref name="QuinoneroScenes">Quinonero, 2017, "Premières scènes"</ref> She performed on Christmas Eve in Brussels and undertook a successful tour in Southern France from late 1962 to early 1963.<ref name="QuinoneroScenes" /> In February 1963, she appeared on the TV show ''Cinq colonnes à la une'' alongside Sylvie Vartan and Sheila. They were later considered to be the three biggest idols of the yé-yé era, each one embodying a different modern girl archetype.<ref name="QuinoneroGraces">Quinonero, 2017, "Les Trois Grâces"</ref> She made her first appearance at the Olympia concert venue in Paris, where she opened for Richard Anthony.<ref name="HardyThree" /> Between 26 February and 10 April, Hardy took part in the Gala des Stars concert tour, sponsored by Europe n° 1 and ''Salut les copains''.<ref name="QuinoneroEurovision">Quinonero, 2017, "«Gala des étoiles» et concours de l'Eurovision"</ref>
Between tour dates<ref name="QuinoneroEurovision" /> she represented Monaco at the Eurovision Song Contest in London, singing "{{lang|fr|L'amour s'en va|italic=no}}", and finished fifth with 25 points in a tie with France's Alain Barrière.<ref>{{cite web |title=London 1963 |url=https://eurovision.tv/event/london-1963/final |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330122650/https://eurovision.tv/event/london-1963/final |archive-date=30 March 2021 |access-date=24 June 2021 |website=Eurovision Song Contest}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pessis |first1=Jacques |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eDMYAQAAIAAJ |title=Chronique de la chanson française |last2=Leduc |first2=Emilie |date=2003 |publisher=Editions Chronique |isbn=9782205055214 |page=102 |language=fr |access-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612072212/https://books.google.com/books?id=eDMYAQAAIAAJ |archive-date=12 June 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> Between 7 November and 18 December 1963, Hardy appeared again as Anthony's opening act at the Olympia in Paris and was well received by the press, who had previously criticized her stiff live performances.<ref name="QuinoneroVoie">Quinonero, 2017, "Suivre sa voie"</ref> On 11 October, Hardy performed in Barcelona, Spain, as part of the fourth Great Gala of the Sedería Española.<ref name="QuinoneroCachez" /> In November, she embarked on her first Italian tour, which mostly visited small coastal towns.<ref name="QuinoneroCachez" /> The singer was also successful in Portugal and travelled to Lisbon in late 1963 to appear on TV shows.<ref name="QuinoneroCachez" />
On 21 February 1964, Hardy promoted "Catch a Falling Star" on the British TV show ''Ready Steady Go!''<ref name="QuinoneroCachez" /> and on the same show performed "All Around the World". She also played on ''Ollie and Fred's Five O'Clock Club'', ''Thank Your Lucky Stars'', and ''Top of the Pops''.<ref name="QuinoneroMonde" /> In the United States, Hardy made her first appearance on NBC's program ''Hullabaloo'', where she performed "However Much", a bilingual version of Charles Trenet's "Que reste-t-il de nos amours ?", and a rendition of "The Girl from Ipanema".<ref name="QuinoneroMonde" />
Hardy became famous overnight in Germany after her 28 April 1965 television appearance in ''Portrait in Musik,'' a series of staged musical performances directed by Truck Branss.<ref name="HardyThree" /><ref name="QuinoneroMonde" /> Pressured by her French and Italian record companies,<ref name="HardyThree" /> Hardy took part in the Sanremo Music Festival 1966, where she reached the finals with the Edoardo Vianello-penned song "Parlami di te".<ref>{{cite book |last=Giannotti |first=Marcello |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o1HE8o8RTXgC&pg=PA233 |title=L'enciclopedia di Sanremo: 55 anni di storia del festival dalla A alla Z |publisher=Gremese Editore |year=2005 |isbn=978-8884403797 |page=233 |language=Italian |trans-title=The Sanremo Encyclopedia: 55 years of the festival's history from A to Z |access-date=14 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612072142/https://books.google.com/books?id=o1HE8o8RTXgC&pg=PA233#v=onepage&q&f=false |archive-date=12 June 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Hardy gave her last three live performances in Kinshasa, Congo, in June 1967.<ref name="QuinoneroAnglais" /> She suffered from stage fright,<ref name="HardySix" /><ref>{{cite web |date=17 January 2014 |title=Chanson singer Francoise Hardy turns 70 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/chanson-singer-francoise-hardy-turns-70/a-17369531 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516210529/https://www.dw.com/en/chanson-singer-francoise-hardy-turns-70/a-17369531 |archive-date=16 May 2021 |access-date=16 May 2021 |publisher=Deutsche Welle}}</ref> which led to her quitting live performances altogether in 1968.<ref name="rfi" /><ref name="franceinfointerview">{{cite web |last=Vial |first=Michel |date=17 June 2016 |title=INTERVIEW. Françoise Hardy : "J'ai l'impression d'avoir tout dit, je ne crois pas que je puisse faire mieux" |url=https://www.francetvinfo.fr/culture/musique/chanson-francaise/interview-francoise-hardy-quot-jai-limpression-davoir-tout-dit-je-ne-crois-pas-que-je-puisse-faire-mieuxquot_3305387.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612012955/https://www.francetvinfo.fr/culture/musique/chanson-francaise/interview-francoise-hardy-quot-jai-limpression-davoir-tout-dit-je-ne-crois-pas-que-je-puisse-faire-mieuxquot_3305387.html |archive-date=12 June 2024 |access-date=18 May 2021 |publisher=France Info |language=French}}</ref>
==Public image== ===Personality=== As a public figure, Hardy was renowned for her shyness and reservedness,<ref name="uncut"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160830-why-we-should-celebrate-shyness|title=Why we should celebrate shyness|access-date=10 May 2021|last=Robson|first=David|publisher=BBC Future|date=31 August 2016|archive-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512060158/https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160830-why-we-should-celebrate-shyness|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="dois">{{cite web|url=https://drownedinsound.com/releases/19179/reviews/4149696|title=Album Review: Françoise Hardy – 2016 reissues|publisher=Drowned in Sound|date=15 January 2016|first=Russell|last=Warfield|access-date=11 May 2021|archive-date=11 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511115725/https://drownedinsound.com/releases/19179/reviews/4149696|url-status=dead}}</ref> and observers have emphasized her "anti-social nature as a celebrity".<ref name="p4kreviews">{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21098-tous-les-garcons-et-les-filles-le-premier-bonheur-du-jour-mon-amie-la-rose-lamitie-la-maison-ou-jai-grandi/|access-date=13 May 2021|publisher=Pitchfork|title=Françoise Hardy: Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles / Le Premier Bonheur Du Jour / Mon Amie La Rose / La Maison Ou J'Ai Grandi / L'Amitié|first=Hazel|last=Cills|date=21 October 2015|archive-date=13 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513183852/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21098-tous-les-garcons-et-les-filles-le-premier-bonheur-du-jour-mon-amie-la-rose-lamitie-la-maison-ou-jai-grandi/|url-status=live}}</ref> She was open in her autobiography and in interviews about her struggles with anxiety, self-doubt, loneliness and inferiority complex.<ref name="HardyThree"/><ref name="HardyEight">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Eight"</ref> ''Uncut''{{'}}s Tom Pinnock noted that "it was her refusal to play the showbusiness game that made her something of an icon."<ref name="uncut"/> The singer's sudden celebrity status was a source of great discomfort for her, as she claimed in 2011: "I didn't enjoy at all everything, the trappings, when all of a sudden you become very famous. (...) [Being taken up by fashion houses] was work, things I had to do, a chore—I didn't enjoy it at all... It is quite impossible to stand—to be admired too much—it is not a normal situation. I don't like that at all. I am not comfortable with my professional life really, so the word 'icon'—it's as though you were talking about someone else, it's not me really."<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0118bgw|title=Falling for Francoise|date=21 May 2011|publisher=Falling Tree Productions. BBC Radio 4 Extra|access-date=22 May 2011|medium=radio program|others=Andrew, John (interviewer); Hall, Alan (producer)|archive-date=16 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516170724/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0118bgw|url-status=live}}</ref> She was also disenchanted with the jet-set and high society lifestyle.<ref name="allmusic" /><ref name="HardyThree" />
=== Fashion trend-setter === thumb|Hardy (pictured in Venice in 1966) with her fringe hairstyle and white boots, considered to be her signature look. As Hardy's almost exclusive photographer and agent during the decade,<ref name="Deluxe58"/> Jean-Marie Périer became a Pygmalion-like figure for her,<ref name="rfi"/><ref name="Deluxe29">Deluxe, 2013. p. 29</ref><ref name="tentaciones"/> and transformed the singer's public image from "a shy, gauche-looking schoolgirl" into a "modern young trend-setter."<ref name="rfi"/> She wrote: "...[Périer] tried to open my mind and help me in all domains with his characteristic generosity... under his tutelage I realized the importance of aesthetics, which became one of my major criteria. He taught me how to carry myself and to dress, and gave me advice on social skills".<ref name="HardyThree"/> He persuaded the singer to begin modelling and she soon became "a star of the international fashion world as well as the French music scene."<ref name="rfi"/> She was photographed by Gered Mankowitz,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/photos/10-iconic-rock-stars-shot-by-the-legendary-gered-mankowitz-1427944|title=10 Iconic Rock Stars Shot By The Legendary Gered Mankowitz|work=NME|access-date=15 May 2021|first=Emily|last=Barker|date=12 September 2013|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515195049/https://www.nme.com/photos/10-iconic-rock-stars-shot-by-the-legendary-gered-mankowitz-1427944|url-status=live}}</ref> William Klein and Richard Avedon for ''Vogue'' and other publications.<ref name="nytimes"/> Her regular appearance on magazine covers gave her a reputation of being the quintessential French cover girl of the 1960s.<ref name="tentaciones"/><ref name="mortality"/><ref name="npr"/> In 1968, Hardy told a reporter that: "If it weren't for the way I dress, no one would notice me".<ref name="achieve" /> Likewise, she told ''Vanity Fair'' in 2018: "My songs had little interest compared to the Anglo-Saxon production. So I took it to heart to dress well every time I went to London or New York. I was above all a fashion ambassador."<ref name="vanityfair" />
As an "it girl"<ref name="independent05" /> and fashion leader,<ref name="id" /> Hardy was considered the epitome of "the 'Modern Woman'"<ref name="mattjames" /> and of 1960s French chic<ref name="sixties">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/arts-don-t-talk-to-me-about-the-sixties-1337101.html|title=Arts: Don't talk to me about the Sixties|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128125214/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/arts-don-t-talk-to-me-about-the-sixties-1337101.html|archive-date=28 January 2021|access-date=15 May 2021|date=14 June 1996|first=Philip|last=Sweeney|work=The Independent}}</ref><ref name="independent05">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/belle-star-1528822.html|title=Belle star|access-date=20 May 2021|date=5 February 2005|work=The Independent|last=McNair|first=James|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330044111/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/belle-star-1528822.html|archive-date=30 March 2019}}</ref> and cool,<ref name="Deluxe64">Deluxe, 2013. p. 64</ref><ref name="thetimes">{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list/profile/article/francoise-hardy-2rzqtxjzplr|title=Françoise Hardy|date=8 January 2005|access-date=15 May 2021|work=The Times|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612012959/https://cdn.privacy-mgmt.com/wrapper/v2/messages?hasCsp=true&env=prod&body=%7B%22accountId%22%3A259%2C%22campaignEnv%22%3A%22prod%22%2C%22campaigns%22%3A%7B%22ccpa%22%3A%7B%22alwaysDisplayDNS%22%3Afalse%2C%22hasLocalData%22%3Afalse%2C%22targetingParams%22%3A%7B%7D%7D%2C%22gdpr%22%3A%7B%22consentStatus%22%3A%7B%7D%2C%22targetingParams%22%3A%7B%7D%7D%7D%2C%22clientMMSOrigin%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.privacy-mgmt.com%22%2C%22hasCSP%22%3Atrue%2C%22includeData%22%3A%7B%22localState%22%3A%7B%22type%22%3A%22string%22%7D%2C%22actions%22%3A%7B%22type%22%3A%22RecordString%22%7D%2C%22cookies%22%3A%7B%22type%22%3A%22RecordString%22%7D%7D%2C%22propertyHref%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thetimes.co.uk%22%2C%22propertyId%22%3A5049%7D&localState=null&metadata=%7B%22ccpa%22%3A%7B%22applies%22%3Atrue%7D%2C%22gdpr%22%3A%7B%22applies%22%3Afalse%7D%7D&nonKeyedLocalState=null&ch=446710079449740212bce6&scriptVersion=4.23.0&scriptType=unified|url-status=live}}</ref> known for her avant-garde and futuristic fashion choices.<ref name="uncut" /><ref name="vanguardistes" /> Brett Marie of PopMatters noted that "her sense of style and '60s-era model figure made her as much an icon of fashion as a music-business star."<ref name="popmatters" /> She recalled in 2008 that at the start of the 1960s, her slender build which had made her self-conscious suddenly became fashionable.<ref name="ellefr" /> She began to be regarded as an "''égérie''" 'muse' by top French fashion designers of the time,<ref name="Deluxe63">Deluxe, 2013. p. 63</ref> including André Courrèges,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ouest-france.fr/le-mag/mode-et-beaute/le-couturier-andre-courreges-est-mort-92-ans-3958816|title=Mort d'André Courrèges, le couturier fétiche de Françoise Hardy|access-date=13 May 2021|date=1 August 2016|language=French|work=Ouest-France|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602214342/https://www.ouest-france.fr/le-mag/mode-et-beaute/le-couturier-andre-courreges-est-mort-92-ans-3958816|url-status=live}}</ref> Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent.<ref name="rfi" /> Hardy championed the first incarnation of Saint-Laurent's rupturist 1966 design Le Smoking,<ref name="numero">{{cite web|url=https://www.numero.com/fr/mode/yves-saint-laurent-histoire-smoking-1966-rive-gauche-revolution-francoise-hardy|language=French|access-date=16 May 2021|title=Le smoking d'Yves Saint Laurent : histoire d'une révolution|first=Yasmine|last=Lahrichi|work=Numéro|date=19 June 2019}}</ref> and the designer recalled that when he took her to the Paris Opera dressed in one of his tuxedos, "People screamed and hollered. It was an outrage".<ref name="smoking">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20140710-smoking-hot-the-womans-tuxedo|title=Smoking hot: The woman's tuxedo|first=Katya|last=Foreman|date=21 October 2015|access-date=16 May 2021|publisher=BBC|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612013016/https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20140710-smoking-hot-the-womans-tuxedo|url-status=live}}</ref>
Hardy was an early fan of Paco Rabanne, making the Spanish designer popular by wearing his creations for photoshoots and television performances.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vogue.fr/fashion-culture/fashion-exhibitions/diaporama/why-you-should-see-the-paco-rabanne-fashion-metallurgist-exhibition/54179|title=Why you should see the "Paco Rabanne, Fashion Metallurgist" exhibition|access-date=13 May 2021|work=Vogue Paris|first=Manon|last=Garrigues|date=13 December 2018|translator-first=Rosa Cecilia|translator-last=Gosling|archive-date=13 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513222407/https://www.vogue.fr/fashion-culture/fashion-exhibitions/diaporama/why-you-should-see-the-paco-rabanne-fashion-metallurgist-exhibition/54179|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1968, she modeled a plated mini-dress made of pure gold at the International Diamond Fair.<ref name="scotsmanobit" /><ref>{{cite journal|author=Braunstein, Peter|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/231149382|title=Visiting Planet Paco|date=February 21, 2001|journal=Women's Wear Daily|id={{ProQuest|231149382}} |language=en}}</ref> Made out of 1,000 gold plaques, 300 carats of diamonds, and weighing 20 pounds, it was considered to be "the most expensive dress in the world in 1968".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Newbold |first=Alice |date=2024-06-12 |title=Françoise Hardy Was the French-Girl Style Blueprint |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/francoise-hardy-french-girl-style-blueprint |access-date=2024-07-27 |website=Vogue |language=en-US}}</ref> Rabanne's designs, including the gold dress, would become some of Hardy's most famous looks.<ref name="10lessons"/><ref name="scotsmanobit">{{cite web |date=June 22, 2024|last1=Shepherd |first1=Fiona |title=Françoise Hardy: French singersongwriter whose melancholic ballads influenced a generation |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/3070768709 |website=The Scotsman |access-date=27 July 2024 |id={{ProQuest|3070768709}} |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lennon |first1=Peter |title=Newspaper Fashion: Prophet motives Paco Rabanne launched his 21st century designs 30 years ago and has been looking to the future ever since. Which is odd, because he's also a soothsayer who is certain that the end of our time is at hand |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/294978425 |date=June 10, 1995|page=48|work=The Guardian |id={{ProQuest|294978425}} }}</ref>
Hardy modelled creations of the nascent ''prêt-à-porter'' industry,<ref name="CRF" /> a new wave of French female designers known as the "yé-yé school"<ref name="radicalrags">{{cite book|title=Radical Rags: Fashions of the Sixties|last=Lobenthal|first=Joel|year=1990|page=45|publisher=Abbeville Press|isbn=0896599302}}</ref> or "the ''stylistes''",<ref name="refashioned">{{cite web|url=https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/paris-refashioned.php|access-date=20 April 2021|date=15 April 2017|title=Paris Refashioned, 1957–1968|publisher=The Museum at FIT. Fashion Institute of Technology|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420194528/https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/paris-refashioned.php|url-status=live}}</ref> who rebelled against the "strictures of ''haute couture''".<ref name="richardmartin">{{cite book|title=Contemporary Fashion|page=300|editor-last=Martin|editor-first=Richard|isbn=978-1558621732|year=1995|publisher=St. James Press}}</ref> She helped to launch the career of Sonia Rykiel by wearing her influential "poor boy sweater" on the cover of ''Elle'',<ref name="CRF" /><ref>{{cite news|access-date=15 May 2021|language=French|url=https://www.letemps.ch/lifestyle/sonia-rykiel-toute-une-vie-couleur|title=Sonia Rykiel, toute une vie en couleur|first=Séverine|last=Saas|date=26 August 2016|work=Le Temps|archive-date=11 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511230023/https://www.letemps.ch/lifestyle/sonia-rykiel-toute-une-vie-couleur|url-status=live}}</ref> and was photographed by David Bailey wearing Emmanuelle Khanh's color-blocking coat for ''Vogue''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vogue.es/moda/articulos/color-block-historia-disenadores-yves-saint-laurent-stephen-burrows|language=Spanish|access-date=15 May 2021|title=De Stephen Burrows a la Comedia del Arte: repaso visual a la historia del color block|last=Nuria|first=Luis|date=8 October 2020|location=Spain|work=Vogue|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515051401/https://www.vogue.es/moda/articulos/color-block-historia-disenadores-yves-saint-laurent-stephen-burrows|url-status=live}}</ref> Fashion Institute of Technology's Colleen Hill considered Hardy's style to be the most enduring of all the yé-yé girls, noting that "her nonchalance is an important part of her appeal. Hardy's fashion choices, such as her white Courrèges pantsuits and Yves Saint Laurent's first Le Smoking, were distinctly '60s and streamlined, yet they also have an edge."<ref name="CRF">{{cite web|url=https://www.crfashionbook.com/culture/a15166094/francoise-hardy-ye-ye-girls-1960s-french-fashion/|title=The Enduring Style of Françoise Hardy and the Yé-Yé Girls|last=Darcella|first=Aria|work=CR Fashion Book |date=17 January 2018|access-date=15 May 2021|publisher=CR Fashion Book. Hearst Communications|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515033723/https://www.crfashionbook.com/culture/a15166094/francoise-hardy-ye-ye-girls-1960s-french-fashion/|url-status=live}}</ref>
Hardy was also known for a pared-down style with discreet hairdos and makeup, often wearing a simple sweater and pants combination.<ref name="CRF" /> Her signature look was defined by her bangs and use of white boots by Courrèges,<ref name="linternaute" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lexpress.fr/culture/musique/francoise-hardy-icone-francaise-de-la-chanson_1658165.html|access-date=11 May 2021|work=L'Express|language=French|title=Françoise Hardy, icône française de la chanson|date=5 March 2015|quote=C'est un soir de réréfendum sur le suffrage universel pour l'élection présidentielle, en 1962, que la France découvre l'interprète de Tous les garçons et les filles. Françoise Hardy séduit alors le pays et vend cette année-là 500 000 exemplaires de son 45 tours avant de connaître un succès international. Françoise Hardy, c'est aussi un style très affirmé: mini-jupe, boots blanches et longue frange, qui vont faire d'elle une égérie de la mode. Elle est enfin la mère de Thomas Dutronc, fils qu'elle a eu avec son mari le chanteur Jacques Dutronc.|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612012958/https://www.lexpress.fr/culture/musique/francoise-hardy-icone-francaise-de-la-chanson_1658165.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and she was one of the first people to wear miniskirts.<ref name="ellefr">{{cite news|url=https://www.elle.fr/Loisirs/Livres/Dossiers/Quelqu-un-d-Hardy-745069|title=Quelqu'un d'Hardy|access-date=15 May 2021|first=Clémentine|last=Goldszal|work=Elle|language=French|date=27 October 2008|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515230202/https://www.elle.fr/Loisirs/Livres/Dossiers/Quelqu-un-d-Hardy-745069|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="vanityfair">{{cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.fr/culture/people/story/article-mag-pourquoi-francoise-hardy-nous-enchante-toujours/3108|title=Pourquoi Françoise Hardy nous enchante toujours|access-date=11 May 2021|date=18 July 2018|work=Vanity Fair|language=French|archive-date=11 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511201321/https://www.vanityfair.fr/culture/people/story/article-mag-pourquoi-francoise-hardy-nous-enchante-toujours/3108|url-status=live}}</ref> She also experimented with androgynous silhouettes.<ref name="vanguardistes" /> She was described as the "anti-Bardot", imposing a beauty ideal that "rendered the exaggerated femininity of the sex-kitten of the time old-fashioned".<ref name="achieve">{{cite web|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/francoise-hardy-french-girl-style|work=Vogue|title=Françoise Hardy Forever: 10 Ways to Achieve the French Singer's Iconic Style|first=Laird|last=Borrelli-Persson|editor-first=Kelly|editor-last=Connor|date=16 January 2015|access-date=1 June 2021|archive-date=16 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516075235/https://www.vogue.com/article/francoise-hardy-french-girl-style|url-status=live}}</ref> By the 1970s she had abandoned the image of a "fashionable young girl about town" that Périer had created for her.<ref name="rfi" />
===1960s universal myth=== Her public image and style during the 1960s made an impact on international pop culture, something that overshadowed her skills as a singer outside of France.<ref name="monkey">{{cite web|url=https://monkeybuzz.com.br/materias/francoise-hardy-e-suas-meninas/|language=Portuguese|title=Françoise Hardy e Suas Meninas|access-date=16 May 2021|first=Carlos Eduardo|last=Lima|date=17 October 2013|publisher=Monkeybuzz|archive-date=16 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516203440/https://monkeybuzz.com.br/materias/francoise-hardy-e-suas-meninas/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="QuinoneroTravesti">Quinonero, 2017, "«Son allure de page travesti»"</ref> In 1967, teen magazine ''Special Pop'' wrote: "[Hardy] manages to attract both kids and their parents, men and women alike. More than a singer, she's becoming a universal myth with whom thousands of young girls dream of identifying."<ref name="Deluxe57"/>
In the second half of the decade, Hardy became known as an inspiring cultural personality and was made a muse by numerous creative people.<ref name="sixties"/><ref name="Deluxe64"/> She was the subject of portraits by artists {{ill|Michel Bourdais|fr}},<ref>{{cite book|author-link=Richard Anthony (singer)|last=Anthony|first=Richard|title=Quand on choisit la liberté|isbn=978-2738226587|publisher=Florent Massot|language=French|year=2010|page= 115|quote=Françoise, elle aussi, lui acheta un petit portrait qu'il (Michel Bourdais) avait fait d'elle et qu'elle aimait beaucoup. Son pianiste lui acheta l'autre et l'un de mes musiciens lui passa une commande.}}</ref> Bernard Buffet,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.artsy.net/artwork/bernard-buffet-francoise-hardy|title=Bernard Buffet: Françoise Hardy (1963)|access-date=16 May 2021|publisher=Artsy|archive-date=16 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516073600/https://www.artsy.net/artwork/bernard-buffet-francoise-hardy|url-status=live}}</ref> Gabriel Pasqualini<ref>{{cite magazine |location=France|magazine=Salut les copains|issue=31|date=February 1965|title=Tout, tout, tout et le reste sur Françoise|page=28|language=French}}</ref> and Jean-Paul Goude.<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Comment te dire adieu|author=Hardy, Françoise|year=1968|location=France|publisher=Disques Vogue|id=CLD-728|medium=LP record}}</ref> In 1965, Jacques Prévert wrote a poem dedicated to the singer titled ''Une plante verte'', which was read as part of Hardy's performance at the Olympia.<ref>{{cite book|year=1992|language=French|title=Œuvres Complètes|publisher=Éditions Gallimard|page=808|author-link=Jacques Prévert|first=Jacques|last=Prévert|isbn=978-2070112302}}</ref> She was also the subject of a poem by Manuel Vázquez Montalbán<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://revistacaracteres.net/revista/vol2n1mayo2013/manuel-vazquez-montalban-leyendo-sus-poemas-cuerpo-y-voz-escritura-y-autoria/|language=Spanish|title=Manuel Vázquez Montalbán leyendo sus poemas: cuerpo y voz, escritura y autoría|year=2013|first=Alessandro|last=Mistrorigo|journal=Caracteres. Estudios culturales y críticos de la esfera digital|issn=2254-4496|location=Salamanca|publisher=Editorial Delirio|access-date=1 June 2021|archive-date=16 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516174834/http://revistacaracteres.net/revista/vol2n1mayo2013/manuel-vazquez-montalban-leyendo-sus-poemas-cuerpo-y-voz-escritura-y-autoria/|url-status=live}}</ref> and an open letter by Paul Guth.<ref>{{cite book|language=French|last=Guth|first=Paul|year=1968|title=Lettre ouverte aux idoles|author-link=Paul Guth|publisher=Éditions Albin Michel|pages=51–63}}</ref> Belgian illustrator Guy Peellaert used Hardy as a model for the title character of his 1968 pop art and psychedelic-inspired comic ''Pravda la Survireuse'', made in collaboration with French screenwriter Pascal Thomas.<ref name="Deluxe64">Deluxe, 2013. p. 64</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://elpais.com/diario/2008/11/20/necrologicas/1227135602_850215.html|access-date=15 May 2021|language=Spanish|work=El País|title=Guy Peellaert, dibujante y fotógrafo|last=Pons|first=Álvaro|date=19 November 2008|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612072733/https://elpais.com/diario/2008/11/20/necrologicas/1227135602_850215.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
The singer was admired by Spanish artist Salvador Dalí,<ref name="sixties" /> who invited her to spend a week with him in Cadaqués in 1968.<ref name="Deluxe67">Deluxe, 2013. p. 67</ref> Hardy was also admired in the Swinging London scene<ref name="bagatelas" /><ref name="abc" /> and she acknowledged having been a "source of fascination for the English pop musicians".<ref name="mortality" /> Malcolm McLaren described her as the "utmost of the pinup girl, pinned to the walls of every trendy pop apprentice's bedroom down in Chelsea. Many bands in their prime, like the Beatles or the Stones, dreamt of dating her."<ref name="Deluxe60">Deluxe, 2013. p. 60</ref> Her image fascinated the young David Bowie,<ref name="monkeyreview" /> Mick Jagger (who described her as his "ideal woman"),<ref name="mortality" /> Brian Jones,<ref name="HardyThree" /> Morrissey,<ref name="vanityfair" /> and Richard Thompson.<ref name="uncut" />
Bob Dylan was infatuated by Hardy and included a beat poem dedicated to her on the back cover of his 1964 album ''Another Side of Bob Dylan''.<ref name="uncut" /><ref name="mortality">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/apr/29/francoise-hardy-interview-personne-d-autre-album|access-date=10 May 2021|work=The Observer|publisher=Guardian Media Group|title=Françoise Hardy: 'I sing about death in a symbolic, even positive way'|first=Sean|last=O'Hagan|date=29 April 2018|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612011234/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/apr/29/francoise-hardy-interview-personne-d-autre-album|url-status=live}}</ref> It began: "for françoise hardy/at the seine's edge/a giant shadow/of notre dame/seeks t' grab my foot/sorbonne students/whirl by on thin bicycles/swirlin' lifelike colors of leather spin..."<ref name="npr" /><ref>{{cite AV media notes|author=Bob Dylan|year=1964|title=Another Side of Bob Dylan|type=LP record|publisher=Columbia Records|id=CS 8993}}</ref> In 2018, Hardy told ''Uncut'' that she had drafts of the poem that Dylan had left in a café. She said, "... I was very moved. This was a young man, a very romantic artist, who had a fixation on somebody only from a picture. You know how very young people are... I realised it had been very important for him."<ref name="uncut" /> Hardy and Dylan met in May 1966, behind the scenes of his performance at Olympia.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.fr/bob-dylan-francoise-hardy/|title=La chanteuse Françoise Hardy a reçu des ébauches de lettres d'amour écrites de la main de Bob Dylan, datant des années 60.|access-date=14 May 2021|date=18 April 2018|magazine=Rolling Stone|location=France|language=French|archive-date=14 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514201543/https://www.rollingstone.fr/bob-dylan-francoise-hardy/|url-status=live}}</ref> Noticing that Hardy was in the audience, Dylan had refused to go back on stage to perform the second half unless she went to his dressing room.<ref name="HardyFour" /><ref name="passion">{{cite web|language=French|url=https://www.lesechos.fr/weekend/spectacles-musique/bob-dylan-une-passion-francaise-1314985|access-date=15 May 2021|title=Bob Dylan, une passion française|date=12 May 2021|first=Laurent-David|last=Samama|work=Les Echos|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515053245/https://www.lesechos.fr/weekend/spectacles-musique/bob-dylan-une-passion-francaise-1314985|url-status=live}}</ref> She and other singers later joined Dylan at his suite in the Four Seasons Hotel George V,<ref name="passion" /> where he gave her early pressings of "Just Like a Woman" and "I Want You".<ref name="HardyFour" />
===Political views=== As a public figure, Hardy was known for her frankness regarding her political views,<ref name="sixties"/> which have been described as right-wing.<ref name="QuinoneroDecalages"/><ref name="gay"/> She was raised in a Gaullist family and she told ''Télérama'' in 2011: "I don't like everything that is said or done on the right, and I don't denigrate everything that is done or said on the left... basically I'm pretty centrist."<ref name="QuinoneroEnfance"/> In her 2008 autobiography, she wrote that she "only identif[ed] with ecology", which she considered "neither right nor left".<ref name="HardyThirteen"/>
While promoting her album ''Décalages'', Hardy was interviewed by the magazine ''Rockland.'' The conversation strayed into politics, the 1988 French presidential election having taken place the day before,<ref name="QuinoneroDecalages"/> and believing that an off-the-record discussion would not be included in the final article, Hardy expressed contempt for people on the left.<ref name="QuinoneroDecalages"/> She was outraged when the political part of the interview was published, and defended herself in a televised interview on 13 May with Thierry Ardisson, in which she recounted an altercation with singer Renaud, claiming that he had insulted her for her support of Minister of Culture François Léotard.<ref name="QuinoneroDecalages"/> In the ''Rockland'' interview, she commented about racism in France, saying "We do not talk about anti-French racism, that there are places where you are more likely to enter if you are not French",<ref name="QuinoneroDecalages"/> as well as about antisemitism, suggesting that "those who see it everywhere could actually be sowing its seeds."<ref name="HardyThirteen">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Thirteen"</ref> The singer wrote in her autobiography that she distanced herself from these remarks.<ref name="HardyThirteen"/>
Hardy was an opponent of the solidarity tax on wealth (French: ''impôt de solidarité sur la fortune''; ISF). She defended the tax shield put in place by the government of Nicolas Sarkozy in 2010 and denounced François Hollande's tax program during the 2012 French presidential election, telling ''Paris Match'': "I believe that most people do not realize the tragedy that the ISF causes to people in my category. I am forced, almost 70 years old and ill, to sell my apartment and move out."<ref name="QuinoneroISF"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/fr/20120410-programme-fiscal-hollande-deplait-francoise-hardy-chanteuse|title=Françoise Hardy dénonce le programme fiscal de François Hollande|access-date=12 May 2021|date=10 April 2012|publisher=France 24|first=Ségolène|last=Allemandou|language=French|archive-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512195529/https://www.france24.com/fr/20120410-programme-fiscal-hollande-deplait-francoise-hardy-chanteuse|url-status=live}}</ref> This prompted her son Thomas Dutronc to write on Twitter: "But no mom, don't worry I'll invite you over to my place just in case..."<ref name="moches"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/ThomasDutronc/status/190170066594181121|title=Mais non maman, ne t'inquiète pas je t'inviterais chez moi au cas où...|publisher=Thomas Dutronc on Twitter|access-date=12 May 2021|date=11 April 2012|archive-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512195530/https://twitter.com/ThomasDutronc/status/190170066594181121|url-status=live}}</ref> Hardy later denied claims that she would be homeless and clarified that "the tragedy is the people who are losing their jobs because of offshoring and the [[European debt crisis|[European debt] crisis]]".<ref name="QuinoneroISF"/>
Hardy expressed her support for legalising abortion, while distancing herself from feminism.<ref name="HardyFive">Hardy, 2018 [2008], "Five"</ref> In 2015, the singer criticized feminist activists in her essay "Avis non autorisés ...", in which she wrote: "I find them surly, ugly, that is to say not feminine for two cents. I have never been able to identify in anything with feminists. There are, however, some that I could have idealized..."<ref name="moches">{{cite web|url=https://www.lesinrocks.com/actu/pour-francoise-hardy-les-feministes-sont-hargneuses-et-moches-363365-06-03-2015/|language=French|work=Les Inrockuptibles|access-date=12 May 2021|date=6 March 2015|title=Pour Françoise Hardy, les féministes sont " hargneuses " et " moches "|last=Boinet|first=Carole|archive-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512052217/https://www.lesinrocks.com/actu/pour-francoise-hardy-les-feministes-sont-hargneuses-et-moches-363365-06-03-2015/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/eloise-bouton/francoise-hardy-feminisme_b_6826950.html|title=Françoise Hardy ou la misogynie à l'ancienne|access-date=12 May 2021|date=9 March 2015|work=HuffPost|first=Éloïse|last=Bouton|language=French|archive-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512052217/https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/eloise-bouton/francoise-hardy-feminisme_b_6826950.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
During the 2017–2018 protests in France, Hardy expressed her support for President Emmanuel Macron. She said "We must let him reform France. Part of the French people don't want to see the reality and are stuck in the Marxist ideology. What I like about President Macron is that he is an idealist but not an ideologue and is firmly grounded in reality."<ref name="nytimes">{{cite news|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109041625/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/09/arts/francoise-hardy-interview.html|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/09/arts/francoise-hardy-interview.html|archive-date=9 November 2020|access-date=12 May 2021|work=The New York Times|title=Françoise Hardy, a French National Treasure, Is Back from the Brink|date=9 May 2018|first=Agnès C.|last=Poirier}}</ref> During the 2023 French pension reform strikes, she told ''Le Journal du Dimanche'' that she was "ashamed of what was happening" in France, fearing that "repeated strikes" would deter tourists, and defended the pension reform bill.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Loridan |first1=Carla |title="J'ai honte de ce qui se passe en France" : Francoise Hardy défend la réforme des retraites |url=https://www.bfmtv.com/people/j-ai-honte-de-ce-qui-se-passe-en-france-francoise-hardy-defend-la-reforme-des-retraites_AN-202304090146.html |website=BFM TV |date=9 April 2023 |access-date=12 June 2024 |archive-date=12 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612072649/https://www.bfmtv.com/people/j-ai-honte-de-ce-qui-se-passe-en-france-francoise-hardy-defend-la-reforme-des-retraites_AN-202304090146.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Legacy and influence== {{Quote box | quote = Few splendors remain so long in the memory. If the music of the yé-yé girls was always a jovial gleam that dazzled, that of Françoise Hardy survives as perhaps the most intense due to her sentimental complexity, a whole swirl of past and future nostalgia sung with overwhelming intimacy. Today it seems like one more trifle, but then, back in the sixties of the last century, hearing a song of heartbreak in the mouth of this woman with a sweet and penetrating voice marked a milestone. | source = — Fernando Navarro, ''El País'', 2020.<ref name="bagatelas">{{cite news|url=https://elpais.com/cultura/2020/08/26/ruta_norteamericana/1598470753_686835.html|title=Rompedoras (IV): Françoise Hardy, la bagatela más esplendorosa|language=Spanish|work=El País|last=Navarro|first=Fernando|date=26 August 2020|access-date=1 June 2021|archive-date=13 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513021000/https://elpais.com/cultura/2020/08/26/ruta_norteamericana/1598470753_686835.html|url-status=live}}</ref> | width = 25% }} Hardy was celebrated as a "French national treasure"<ref name="allmusic"/><ref name="uncut"/><ref name="npr">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/09/12/647068156/fran-oise-hardy-remains-frances-national-treasure|title=Françoise Hardy Remains France's National Treasure|access-date=26 May 2021|date=12 September 2018|last=Beardsley|first=Eleanor|publisher=NPR|archive-date=28 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628124508/https://www.npr.org/2018/09/12/647068156/fran-oise-hardy-remains-frances-national-treasure|url-status=live}}</ref> and one of the greatest figures in French music.<ref name="monkey" /> She was one of the best-selling music artists in French history, with over 7.6 million records sold by November 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.infodisc.fr/Vente_Artiste.php|language=French|title=Bilan des Ventes globales (Albums & Chansons) par Artiste|access-date=23 May 2021|year=2018|publisher=InfoDisc|first1=Daniel|last1=Lesueur|first2=Dominic|last2=Durand|archive-date=4 April 2016|archive-url=https://archive.today/20160404203703/http://www.infodisc.fr/Vente_Artiste.php|url-status=live}}</ref> American critic Richie Unterberger described her as "indisputably the finest pop-rock artist to emerge from that country in the 1960s"<ref name="originales">{{cite web|url=http://www.richieunterberger.com/wordpress/francoise-hardy-les-versions-originales/|author-link=Richie Unterberger|date=3 December 2015|title=Françoise Hardy: Les Versions Originales|publisher=Folkrocks|access-date=13 May 2021|last=Unterberger|first=Richie|archive-date=13 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513042445/http://www.richieunterberger.com/wordpress/francoise-hardy-les-versions-originales/|url-status=live}}</ref> and said he would like to see Hardy inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.richieunterberger.com/wordpress/the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-an-alternate-top-ten/|author-link=Richie Unterberger|date=17 June 2014|title=The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: An Alternate Top Ten|publisher=Folkrocks|access-date=13 May 2021|last=Unterberger|first=Richie|archive-date=13 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513043925/http://www.richieunterberger.com/wordpress/the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-an-alternate-top-ten/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2011, Hardy was included in ''Le Petit Larousse Illustré''.<ref name="QuinoneroISF">Quinonero, 2017, "La pluie..., Hollande et l'ISF"</ref>
Long after her heyday in the 1960s, Hardy continued to be regarded as an important and influential figure in fashion history.<ref name="id">{{cite web|url=https://i-d.co/article/francoise-hardy-most-iconic-outfits-fashion-french-style/|title=7 of Françoise Hardy's most iconic outfits|first=Zoë|last=Kendall|access-date=6 May 2021|date=22 January 2021|work=i-D|publisher=Vice Media|archive-date=6 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506211343/https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/epdqm7/francoise-hardy-most-iconic-outfits-fashion-french-style|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="vanguardistes">{{cite web|url=https://www.journaldesfemmes.fr/mode/styles-de-people/1869854-francoise-hardy-look-tenues-photos/|language=French|access-date=10 May 2021|title=Les looks avant-gardistes de Françoise Hardy|publisher=Le Journal des femmes. Groupe Figaro|date=29 January 2019|archive-date=10 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510204504/https://www.journaldesfemmes.fr/mode/styles-de-people/1869854-francoise-hardy-look-tenues-photos/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="achieve"/><ref name="10lessons">{{cite web|url=https://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/style-lessons-from-francoise-hardy|work=British Vogue|access-date=21 May 2021|last=Fearon|first=Faye|title=10 Style Lessons To Take From Françoise Hardy For The Season Ahead|date=17 January 2018|archive-date=21 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521183824/https://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/style-lessons-from-francoise-hardy|url-status=live}}</ref> During his time at Balenciaga, designer Nicolas Ghesquière described her in ''Vogue'' as "the very essence of French style".<ref name="achieve" /> The photographs of the singer wearing a Paco Rabanne metal-plated dress inspired Lizzy Gardiner's design of the costumes of ''Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' and her own Oscars dress.<ref name="gay"/> Hardy was a muse to Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo, who named her label Comme des Garçons after a lyric in the song "Tous les garçons et les filles".<ref name="10lessons"/>
Over her career, Hardy amassed a large fanbase among gay men and was regarded as a gay icon by the community. She said on several occasions that her most devoted friends and fans were gay.<ref name="gay">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zCxfDwAAQBAJ |title=Gay Icons: The (Mostly) Female Entertainers Gay Men Love |last=Guilbert |first=Georges-Claude |year=2018 |publisher=McFarland |access-date=1 August 2018 |pages=85–86 |isbn=9781476674339 |archive-date=12 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612011218/https://books.google.com/books?id=zCxfDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Hardy's musical influence is found in the work of Francophone acts such as Coralie Clément,<ref name="monkey"/> La Femme,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rocknfolk.com/albums/la-femme-mystere/8680|title=La Femme: Mystère|language=French|access-date=15 May 2021|work=Rock & Folk|date=17 September 2016|last=Farkas|first=Basile|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515202138/https://www.rocknfolk.com/albums/la-femme-mystere/8680|url-status=live}}</ref> Juliette Armanet,<ref name="vanityfair"/> Melody's Echo Chamber,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/melodys_echo_chamber_interview|access-date=15 May 2021|title=Melody's Echo Chamber: Location, Location, Location|date=7 September 2012|first=Laura|last=Studarus|work=Under the Radar|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515185222/http://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/melodys_echo_chamber_interview|url-status=live}}</ref> Keren Ann<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2004/music/reviews/keren-ann-1200531509/|title=Keren Ann|date=25 August 2004|work=Variety|access-date=15 May 2021|last=Sprague|first=David|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515193652/https://variety.com/2004/music/reviews/keren-ann-1200531509/|url-status=live}}</ref> and Carla Bruni, who imitated Hardy's style for her musical debut.<ref name="tentaciones">{{cite web|url=https://tentaciones.elpais.com/2011/11/hardy.html|work=Tentaciones. El País|language=Spanish|access-date=13 May 2021|date=8 November 2011|title=Françoise Hardy, la más bella del baile|first=Carles|last=Gámez|archive-date=10 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111110131838/https://tentaciones.elpais.com/2011/11/hardy.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Writers have pointed to her influence on the music of English avant-pop group Stereolab,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8FI3dVT9t34C&pg=PA150|page=150|access-date=11 May 2021|author-link=Simon Reynolds|last=Reynolds|first=Simon|year=2011|title=Retromania: Pop Culture's Addiction to Its Own Past|isbn=978-0865479944|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612011140/https://books.google.com/books?id=8FI3dVT9t34C&pg=PA150#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clashmusic.com/features/where-to-start-stereolab|access-date=11 May 2021|title=Where To Start... Stereolab|date=19 June 2019|work=Clash|archive-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512090247/https://www.clashmusic.com/features/where-to-start-stereolab|url-status=live}}</ref> including similarities in Hardy's vocals and those of lead singer Lætitia Sadier.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telerama.fr/sortir/stereolab,-le-retour-dun-groupe-de-rock-aussi-culte-que-meconnu,n6280919.php|language=French|access-date=11 May 2021|title=Stereolab, le retour d'un groupe de rock aussi culte que méconnu|date=8 June 2019|first=Marc|last=Zisman|work=Télérama|archive-date=11 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511183427/https://www.telerama.fr/sortir/stereolab,-le-retour-dun-groupe-de-rock-aussi-culte-que-meconnu,n6280919.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Outside the French-speaking world, she has been mentioned as an inspiration to female singer-songwriters like Caroline Polachek,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/caroline-polachek-explains-her-high-concept-diy-project-ramona-lisa/|access-date=11 May 2021|title=Caroline Polachek Explains her High Concept DIY Project Ramona Lisa|date=5 May 2014|first=Emma-Lee|last=Moss|publisher=Noisey. Vice Media|archive-date=11 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511211923/https://www.vice.com/en/article/658gkr/caroline-polachek-explains-her-high-concept-diy-project-ramona-lisa|url-status=live}}</ref> Charli XCX,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/in_the_studio_charli_xcx_on_her_next_album_which_is_not_a_hipster_electroni|access-date=15 May 2021|title=In the Studio: Charli XCX on Her Next Album, Which is Not a Hipster, Electronic Synth-pop Record|date=19 March 2014|first=Chris|last=Tinkham|work=Under the Radar|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515184815/http://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/in_the_studio_charli_xcx_on_her_next_album_which_is_not_a_hipster_electroni|url-status=live}}</ref> Angel Olsen,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2013/02/14/catching-up-with-angel-olsen-the-ad-interview/|access-date=15 May 2021|title=Catching Up With Angel Olsen: The AD Interview|publisher=Aquarium Drunkard|date=14 February 2013|last=Steele|first=J.|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612013022/https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2013/02/14/catching-up-with-angel-olsen-the-ad-interview/|url-status=live}}</ref> Candie Payne,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-candie-payne-8559-322943|access-date=15 May 2021|work=NME|title=Candie Payne|date=23 May 2007|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515195329/https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-candie-payne-8559-322943|url-status=live}}</ref> Erin Rae,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://americansongwriter.com/erin-rae-shares-new-track-putting-airs/|title=Erin Rae Shares New Track "Putting On Airs"|access-date=15 May 2021|work=American Songwriter|first=Cheyenne|last=Bilderback|date=13 April 2018|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612020917/https://americansongwriter.com/erin-rae-shares-new-track-putting-airs/|url-status=live}}</ref> Heather Trost,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2020/11/18/heather-trost-petrichor/|access-date=15 May 2021|title=Heather Trost: Petrichor|publisher=Aquarium Drunkard|date=18 November 2020|first=Ana|last=Gavrilovska|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515190111/https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2020/11/18/heather-trost-petrichor/|url-status=live}}</ref> Violetta Zironi,<ref>{{cite web|title=FOREIGN EXPOSURE: Violetta Zironi|url=https://blurtonline.com/feature/foreign-exposure-violetta-zironi/|work=Blurt|access-date=15 May 2021|last=Cook|first=Robin E.|date=31 March 2008|archive-date=16 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516061829/https://blurtonline.com/feature/foreign-exposure-violetta-zironi/|url-status=live}}</ref> Zooey Deschanel and Cat Power.<ref name="monkey"/> Hardy has also influenced alternative music acts such as Broadcast,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.treblezine.com/illumination-the-music-of-trish-keenan-and-broadcast/|date=16 January 2011|title=Illumination: The music of Trish Keenan and Broadcast|publisher=Treble|access-date=11 May 2021|archive-date=11 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511090121/https://www.treblezine.com/illumination-the-music-of-trish-keenan-and-broadcast/|url-status=live}}</ref> Goldfrapp,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/goldfrapp_shapeshifters|access-date=15 May 2021|title=Goldfrapp: Shapeshifters Interview|date=8 October 2013|first=Laura|last=Studarus|work=Under the Radar|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515185222/http://www.undertheradarmag.com/interviews/goldfrapp_shapeshifters|url-status=live}}</ref> Jeremy Jay,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thefader.com/2008/05/13/style-q-a-jeremy-jay|access-date=15 May 2021|date=13 May 2008|title=Style Q+A: Jeremy Jay|work=The Fader|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515184347/https://www.thefader.com/2008/05/13/style-q-a-jeremy-jay|url-status=live}}</ref> The Chap<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.factmag.com/2010/06/08/the-chap-talk-well-done-europe-present-exclusive-mix-for-fact/|access-date=15 May 2021|date=8 June 2010|title=The Chap talk Well Done Europe; present exclusive mixtape for FACT|work=Fact|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515192839/https://www.factmag.com/2010/06/08/the-chap-talk-well-done-europe-present-exclusive-mix-for-fact/|url-status=live}}</ref> and Xeno & Oaklander.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.factmag.com/2019/01/10/xeno-oaklander-dais-hypnos/|title=Xeno & Oaklander debut on Dais with new album Hypnos|last=Bruce-Jones|first=Henry|work=Fact|date=10 January 2019|access-date=15 May 2021|archive-date=19 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230219165628/https://www.factmag.com/2019/01/10/xeno-oaklander-dais-hypnos/|url-status=live}}</ref> In an article for Into Creative, Filmmaker Grant McPhee described her as 'A poster-girl for shy people and a fantasy figure for believing they too can be cool' <ref>{{Cite web |title=French Girl Pop – An Introduction |url=https://intocreative.co.uk/french-girl-pop-an-introduction/ |access-date=3 January 2023 |website=Into Creative |date=24 November 2022 |language=en-GB |archive-date=3 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103205344/https://intocreative.co.uk/french-girl-pop-an-introduction/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2021, Rivers Cuomo of American rock band Weezer cited Hardy as one of his "sonic ideals",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/weezer-ok-human/|title=Weezer: OK Human Album Review|publisher=Pitchfork|access-date=11 May 2021|date=1 February 2021|last=Cohen|first=Ian|archive-date=28 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428172855/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/weezer-ok-human/|url-status=live}}</ref> and side he was particularly influenced by her album ''Message personnel''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/weezer-new-album-ok-human-all-my-favorite-songs-video-1116969/|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=5 June 2021|title=Weezer Preview New LP 'OK Human' With 'All My Favorite Songs'|date=21 January 2021|last1=Kreps|first1=Daniel|last2=Legaspi|first2=Althea|archive-date=19 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210619134954/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/weezer-new-album-ok-human-all-my-favorite-songs-video-1116969/|url-status=live}}</ref> Greg Gonzalez of American dream pop band Cigarettes After Sex called Hardy one of his biggest musical influences,<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68IuU4Xnb2Y|access-date=11 May 2021|date=10 January 2018|medium=YouTube|title=Cigarettes After Sex : " Mes grandes influences ? Françoise Hardy et Erik Satie "|publisher=Radio Nova|archive-date=11 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511055948/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68IuU4Xnb2Y|url-status=live}}</ref> stating in 2016: "''La question'' is just so perfect, I wanted that kind of beauty."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-diehard-romanticism-of-cigarettes-after-sex/|title=The Diehard Romanticism of Cigarettes After Sex|last1=Cacouris|first1=Christina|date=17 February 2016|publisher=Noisey. Vice|access-date=27 October 2016|archive-date=28 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161028020323/https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/the-diehard-romanticism-of-cigarettes-after-sex|url-status=live}}</ref>
The 1971 cult album ''La question'' appeared in ''The Guardian''{{'}}s "1000 albums to hear before you die".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/nov/19/1000tohearbeforeyoudie5|work=The Guardian|title=1000 albums to hear before you die: Artists beginning with H (part 1)|access-date=12 May 2021|date=19 November 2007|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612011653/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/nov/19/1000tohearbeforeyoudie5|url-status=live}}</ref> The album would gain a cult following after its release<ref name="telerama16" /><ref name="franceinter" /><ref name="indiehoy">{{cite web |last=Allermann |first=Juan Ignacio |date=15 October 2021 |title=Françoise Hardy y los 50 años de La question, su obra maestra de culto |url=https://indiehoy.com/indieayer/francoise-hardy-y-los-50-anos-de-la-question-su-obra-maestra-de-culto/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016000715/https://indiehoy.com/indieayer/francoise-hardy-y-los-50-anos-de-la-question-su-obra-maestra-de-culto/ |archive-date=16 October 2021 |access-date=16 October 2021 |work=Indie Hoy |language=es}}</ref> and it became regarded as Hardy's artistic peak.<ref name="efequestion">{{cite web |date=30 May 2020 |title=La question (1971), de Françoise Hardy |url=https://www.efeeme.com/la-question-1971-de-francoise-hardy/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412191312/https://www.efeeme.com/la-question-1971-de-francoise-hardy/ |archive-date=12 April 2021 |access-date=27 April 2021 |publisher=Efe Eme |language=Spanish}}</ref><ref name="indiehoy" />
In 2017, Pitchfork ranked ''Tous les garçons et les filles'' ninetieth on its list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s", with Marc Hogan describing it as "an enduring middle ground between rockabilly shimmy and Gallic introspection, delivered by the most glamorous wallflower in France."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-albums-of-the-1960s/?page=6|publisher=Pitchfork|title=The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s|access-date=12 May 2021|date=22 August 2017|archive-date=25 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225231319/https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-albums-of-the-1960s/?page=6|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2023, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked Hardy at number 162 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=1 January 2023|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-singers-all-time-1234642307/francoise-hardy-1234642907/|access-date=7 March 2023|archive-date=7 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307220908/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-singers-all-time-1234642307/francoise-hardy-1234642907/|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Personal assessment on career === Hardy was critical of her first albums, ''Tous les garçons et les filles'' and ''Le premier bonheur du jour'', despite their popularity.<ref name="uncut" /> She said in interviews in 2018 that she "felt very frustrated because I wanted to have beautiful electric guitars... Instead, I had very bad French musicians and a terribly bad musical production."<ref name="clash" /> After she went to London in 1963 to record new albums, she felt able "to make another kind of music, not this mechanical music I had been trapped in."<ref name="mortality" />
Despite the poor commercial performances of her early 1970s releases, ''La question'', ''Et si je m'en vais avant toi'', and ''If You Listen,'' Hardy felt artistically vindicated.<ref name="HardySeven" /> She felt especially proud of ''La question'', stating in 2008: "while it did not enjoy great success with the public at large, at least I can claim that it did touch another audience... Often an ambitious record can be more or less ignored when it is released but ends up having a long life."<ref name="HardySeven" /> In 1996 interview with ''The Independent'', Hardy said she believed that most people did not know her artistry, and that she always had to talk about the 1960s and the Beatles.<ref name="sixties" />
== Personal life ==
===Family=== [[File:Fanclub1966JacquesDutronc.jpg|thumb|Hardy and fellow musician Jacques Dutronc began their relationship in 1967 and married in 1981.]] In 1962 Hardy formed a romantic and professional relationship with ''Salut Les Copains'' photographer Jean-Marie Périer.<ref name="QuinoneroGarcon">Quinonero, 2017, "«L'amour d'un garçon / Peut tout changer»"</ref><ref name="Deluxe58"/> They did not live together and were constantly apart because of their work obligations, which took a toll on the relationship.<ref name="HardyThree"/> They broke up in 1966<ref name="HardyFour"/> but remained close friends and collaborators.<ref name="parismatch21"/> Hardy began a highly publicized relationship with singer Jacques Dutronc in 1967.<ref name="NightfallJeneusse">{{cite web|url=http://fp.nightfall.fr/index_6755_franoise-hardy-ma-jeunesse-fout-le-camp.html|title=Françoise HARDY – Ma Jeunesse Fout Le Camp (1967)|author=Waltersmoke|access-date=27 May 2021|date=24 May 2014|language=French|publisher=Forces Parallèles. Nightfall.fr|archive-date=27 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210527030919/http://fp.nightfall.fr/index_6755_franoise-hardy-ma-jeunesse-fout-le-camp.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="QuinoneroVoudras">Quinonero, 2017, "«Le jour où tu voudras / Je serai là pour toi»"</ref> After the birth of their only child, a son Thomas, on 16 June 1973,<ref name="QuinoneroThomas">Quinonero, 2017, "Thomas, l'enfant de l'amour"</ref> Hardy and Dutronc moved into in a three-story house near Parc Montsouris in the autumn of 1974.<ref name="QuinoneroThomas"/> The family moved every summer to a house owned by Dutronc in Lumio on the island of Corsica.<ref name="QuinoneroThomas"/> As an adult, Hardy's son Thomas Dutronc also developed a career as a musician.<ref name="resurreccion">{{cite news|url=https://elpais.com/cultura/2016/05/17/actualidad/1463486870_815121.html|language=Spanish|work=El País|access-date=29 May 2021|title=La resurrección musical de Françoise Hardy|date=19 May 2016|last=Gámez|first=Carles|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602212320/https://elpais.com/cultura/2016/05/17/actualidad/1463486870_815121.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
Hardy and Dutronc were married on 30 March 1981 in a private ceremony.<ref name="ina81">{{cite web|url=https://www.ina.fr/contenus-editoriaux/articles-editoriaux/1981-francoise-hardy-revele-son-opinion-sur-le-mariage/|language=French|access-date=11 May 2021|title=1981, Françoise Hardy révèle son opinion sur le mariage|date=29 March 2021|publisher=INA|archive-date=10 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510042057/https://www.ina.fr/contenus-editoriaux/articles-editoriaux/1981-francoise-hardy-revele-son-opinion-sur-le-mariage/|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Hardy, they formalized their relationship for "fiscal reasons",<ref name="independent05"/> and on the advice of Hardy's lawyer for health and safety reasons.<ref name="ina81"/> The couple separated in 1988 due to infidelities on both parts and Dutronc's alcoholism.<ref name="QuinoneroFaim"/><ref name="QuinoneroVII">Quinonero, 2017, "«ME PASSER DU MYSTÈRE DE MISTER» «Qu'y a-t-il sous votre carapace ? / Quels jardins secrets ? / L'un après l'autre / Tout est passé...»"</ref> They never divorced and their relationship became a "special friendship".<ref name="QuinoneroVII"/> In 2016, She told ''Le Parisien'' that although Dutronc had a new partner, he did not want a divorce from Hardy.<ref name="parisien16">{{cite web|url=https://www.leparisien.fr/culture-loisirs/rechanter-sait-on-jamais-06-12-2016-6418329.php|title=VIDEOS. Françoise Hardy : " Rechanter ? Sait-on jamais... "|access-date=29 May 2021|date=6 December 2016|language=French|work=Le Parisien|last1=((Bureau))|first1=Éric|last2=Jaeglé|first2=Yves|last3=Kastler-Le Scour|first3=Élisabeth|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602213816/https://www.leparisien.fr/culture-loisirs/rechanter-sait-on-jamais-06-12-2016-6418329.php|url-status=live}}</ref>
In the early 1980s, she learned that her distant father had led a double life as a closeted gay man when one of his young lovers bragged about his financial support to one of Dutronc's friends.<ref name="HardyEleven"/> He died in a hospital on 6 February 1981 after being assaulted,<ref name="HardyEleven"/> probably by a young male prostitute,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lexpress.fr/styles/vip/videos-francoise-hardy-se-confie-sur-l-homosexualite-de-son-pere_1764577.html|title=VIDEOS. Françoise Hardy se confie sur l'homosexualité de son père|access-date=10 May 2021|date=17 February 2016|work=L'Express|language=French|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612013023/https://www.lexpress.fr/styles/people/videos-francoise-hardy-se-confie-sur-l-homosexualite-de-son-pere_1764577.html|url-status=live}}</ref> which was not reported in the press at the time.<ref name="QuinoneroMariage">Quinonero, 2017, "Mariage et élections"</ref> Hardy's sister Michèle was raised without the affection of their parents, and developed suicidal and paranoid schizophrenic tendencies.<ref name="HardyFive"/> In May 2004 she was found dead at her home in L'Île-Rousse from a probable suicide.<ref name="HardyEighteen"/>
===Health and death===
Between late 2004 and early 2005 Hardy was diagnosed with MALT lymphoma,<ref name="avisnon"/><ref name="QuinoneroDefera">Quinonero, 2017 "«Rien ne défera jamais nos liens»"</ref> which inaugurated a "hellish period" that disrupted her life.<ref name="HardyEighteen"/> She underwent chemotherapy treatment that was initially successful.<ref name="HardyEighteen"/> In March 2015, her condition worsened and she had to be admitted to hospital, where she was put into an artificial coma and nearly died.<ref name="figaroavis"/> While in hospital, she broke her hip and elbow.<ref name="figaroavis"/> She told ''Le Figaro'' in 2015: "I also have a lot of difficulty walking... There are times when I absolutely cannot see anyone and I cannot go out. But I remain positive... I avoid thinking about it, it does not obsess me."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/livres/2015/03/04/03005-20150304ARTFIG00318-les-coups-de-griffe-de-francoise-hardy.php|title=Les coups de griffe de Françoise Hardy|language=French|work=Le Figaro|access-date=26 May 2021|first=Mohammed|last=Aïssaoui|date=4 March 2015|archive-date=26 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526181643/https://www.lefigaro.fr/livres/2015/03/04/03005-20150304ARTFIG00318-les-coups-de-griffe-de-francoise-hardy.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Hardy underwent further chemotherapy and immunotherapy sessions.<ref name="diseasertl">{{cite web|url=https://www.rtl.fr/actu/debats-societe/euthanasie-je-ne-peux-rester-a-attendre-que-la-mort-arrive-confie-francoise-hardy-7900017283|language=French|access-date=6 May 2021|title=Euthanasie : "Je ne peux rester à attendre que la mort arrive", confie Françoise Hardy|first1=Flavie|last1=Flament|first2=Emmanuelle|last2=Brisson|date=7 April 2021|publisher=RTL|archive-date=6 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506053245/https://www.rtl.fr/actu/debats-societe/euthanasie-je-ne-peux-rester-a-attendre-que-la-mort-arrive-confie-francoise-hardy-7900017283|url-status=live}}</ref> Her health worsened, and in 2021 she made news as an advocate for the legalization of physician-assisted suicide in France. She said in interviews that if her condition became unbearable to the point where she can no longer "do the things that [her] life requires", she would resort to euthanasia, but would not have the consultation to do so.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.parismatch.com/People/Francoise-Hardy-l-hymne-a-l-amour-1729389|language=French|access-date=6 May 2021|quote=Quand mon état deviendra encore plus insupportable, je n'aurai, hélas, pas le soulagement de savoir que je peux me faire euthanasier. La France est inhumaine sur ce plan-là.|title=Françoise Hardy: "Je n'ai pas peur de mourir mais j'ai très, très peur de souffrir"|work=Paris Match|date=17 March 2021|archive-date=6 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506053250/https://www.parismatch.com/People/Francoise-Hardy-l-hymne-a-l-amour-1729389|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="diseasertl" /> In the same year, she disclosed that she could no longer sing as a result of the effects of the treatments.<ref name="parismatch21" /> Hardy died of laryngeal cancer in Paris, on 11 June 2024, at the age of 80.<ref name="lemonde">{{cite web|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/disparitions/article/2024/06/11/francoise-hardy-icone-de-la-culture-pop-est-morte_6238944_3382.html|title=Françoise Hardy, icône de la culture pop, est morte|publisher=Le Monde|accessdate=11 June 2024|date=11 June 2024|language=French|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612011748/https://www.lemonde.fr/disparitions/article/2024/06/11/francoise-hardy-icone-de-la-culture-pop-est-morte_6238944_3382.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Before her death she had also experienced several falls and bone fractures.<ref name="lemonde" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/jun/12/francoise-hardy-french-pop-singer-and-fashion-muse-dies-aged-80|title=Françoise Hardy, French pop singer and fashion muse, dies aged 80|work=The Guardian|access-date=12 June 2024|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612013919/https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/jun/12/francoise-hardy-french-pop-singer-and-fashion-muse-dies-aged-80|url-status=live |last1=Beaumont-Thomas |first1=Ben }}</ref> Her son announced her death on Instagram, writing "Mom is gone..."<ref name="letempsobit">{{cite web |last1=Perrin |first1=Oliver |title=Françoise Hardy, notre âme en peine: Hommage Malade depuis deux décennies, la chanteuse et icône de la culture pop s'en est allée à l'âge de 80 ans. Elle était admirée pour son talent, son courage, et sa volonté tenace cachée dans l'ombre de ses doutes susurrés pendant un demi-siècle |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/3066988225 |id={{ProQuest|3066988225}}|website=Le Temps |language=fr |access-date=18 July 2024 |date=13 June 2024}}</ref> {{As of|2024|06|20|alt=On 20 June 2024}} a farewell ceremony took place at Père Lachaise Cemetery at the crematorium and columbarium building.<ref name="Figaro/AFP 2024-06-15">{{cite news |agency=AFP |title=Les obsèques de Françoise Hardy se tiendront jeudi à Paris |trans-title=The funeral of Françoise Hardy will be held on Thursday in Paris |website=Le Figaro |date=2024-06-15 |url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/musique/les-obseques-de-francoise-hardy-se-tiendront-jeudi-a-paris-20240615 |language=fr |access-date=2024-06-16}}</ref>
==Selected discography== {{Main|Françoise Hardy discography}} {{columns-list|colwidth=35em| * Untitled album (''Tous les garçons et les filles (All The Boys And Girls)'') (1962)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://spectrumculture.com/2015/10/27/francoise-hardy-tous-les-garcons-et-les-filles-le-premier-bonheur-du-jour-mon-amie-la-rose-lamitie-la-maison-ou-jai-grandi/|title=Françoise Hardy: Tous les garçons et les filles, Le Premier Bonheur du jour, Mon Amie la rose, L'Amitié, La Maison oú j'ai grandi|last1=Paul|first1=John|date=27 October 2015|website=|publisher=Spectrum Culture|access-date=18 August 2016|archive-date=25 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125230751/http://spectrumculture.com/2015/10/27/francoise-hardy-tous-les-garcons-et-les-filles-le-premier-bonheur-du-jour-mon-amie-la-rose-lamitie-la-maison-ou-jai-grandi/|url-status=live}}</ref> * Untitled album (''Le premier bonheur du jour (The First Good Time Of The Day)'') (1963)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/master/202934-Fran%C3%A7oise-Hardy-Fran%C3%A7oise-Hardy|title=Françoise Hardy – Françoise Hardy|access-date=4 April 2022|website=Discogs.com|date=1963 |archive-date=24 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324203725/https://www.discogs.com/master/202934-Fran%C3%A7oise-Hardy-Fran%C3%A7oise-Hardy|url-status=live}}</ref> * Untitled album (''Françoise Hardy canta per voi in italiano (English: Françoise Hardy Sings For You In Italian'') (1963)<ref>Catalogue number: LPJ 5034.</ref> * Untitled album (''Mon amie la rose (My Friend The Rose'') (1964)<ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Jones |first1=Peter |author-link1=Peter Jones (journalist) |last2= Jopling |first2= Norman |date=27 February 1965 |title=Francoise Hardy |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/60s/65/Record-Mirror-1965-02-27-S-OCR.pdf |magazine=Record Mirror |issue=207 |page=11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401225353/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/60s/65/Record-Mirror-1965-02-27-S-OCR.pdf |archive-date=1 April 2022|access-date=17 August 2022}}</ref> * Untitled album (''L'amitié (Friendship'') (1965)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ariza Lázaro |first=Sergio |date=17 January 2017 |title=Las 10 mejores canciones de Françoise Hardy |url=https://www.diariocritico.com/musica/francoise-hardy-mejores-canciones |access-date=26 March 2021 |publisher=Diariocrítico.com |language=Spanish |archive-date=30 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130054053/https://www.diariocritico.com/musica/francoise-hardy-mejores-canciones |url-status=live }}</ref> * ''In English'' (1966)<ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Jones |first1=Peter |author-link1=Peter Jones (journalist) |last2= Jopling |first2= Norman |date=14 May 1966 |title=Francoise Hardy: ''Sings in English'' |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/60s/66/Record-Mirror-1966-05-14.pdf |magazine=Record Mirror |issue=270 |page=10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401225734/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/60s/66/Record-Mirror-1966-05-14.pdf |archive-date=1 April 2022|access-date=18 November 2022}}</ref> * Untitled album (''La maison où j'ai grandi (The House Where I Grew Up)'') (1966)<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r330373|pure_url=yes}} Maison Ou J'ai Grandi – overview], Allmusic. Accessed on line 1 May 2009.</ref> * ''Ma jeunesse fout le camp... (My Youth Is Leaving...)'' (1967)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ouest-france.fr/culture/musiques/les-tresors-de-nos-discotheques-francoise-hardy-chante-tant-de-belles-choses-6803149|language=French|title=Les trésors de nos discothèques. Françoise Hardy a chanté tant de belles choses|last=Trodaec|first=Michel|date=8 April 2020|work=Ouest-France|access-date=1 June 2021|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602213817/https://www.ouest-france.fr/culture/musiques/les-tresors-de-nos-discotheques-francoise-hardy-chante-tant-de-belles-choses-6803149|url-status=live}}</ref> * Untitled album (''Comment te dire adieu (How To Say Goodbye To You)'') (1968)<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.secondhandsongs.com/song/44754|title = Cover versions of It Hurts to Say Goodbye by Margaret Whiting | SecondHandSongs|website = SecondHandSongs|access-date = 11 June 2024|archive-date = 8 October 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081008023158/http://www.secondhandsongs.com/song/44754|url-status = live}}</ref> * Untitled album (''La Question'' (''The Question'') (1971)<ref name="Weiner 19">{{cite news |last=Weiner|first=Judith|date=25 October 1971|title=Interview |language=fr|newspaper=France-Soir|location=Paris|page=19}}</ref> * ''Personne d'autre (Nobody Else)'' (2018)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/personne-dautre-mw0003160885|title=Personne d"Autre – Françoise Hardy|publisher=AllMusic.com|last=Jurek|first=Thom|accessdate=23 May 2018|archive-date=23 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523200637/https://www.allmusic.com/album/personne-dautre-mw0003160885|url-status=live}}</ref> }}
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" |- !scope="col"| Year !scope="col"| Title !scope="col"| Role !Director !scope="col" class="unsortable"| Notes !scope="col"| {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference(s)}} |- | 1963 !scope=row| ''Nutty, Naughty Chateau (Château en Suède)'' | Ophélie | Roger Vadim | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| <ref name="Deluxe60"/> |- | 1964 !scope=row| ''The Hully Gully Boys'' ({{ill|I Ragazzi Dell'Hully Gully|it|italic=yes}}) | rowspan="2"| Herself | Marcello Giannini and Carlo Infascelli | rowspan="2"| musical performer | style="text-align:center;"| <ref name="ragazzi"/> |- | rowspan="3"| 1965 !scope=row| ''This Crazy, Crazy World of Song (Questo Pazzo, Pazzo Mondo Della Canzone)'' | Bruno Corbucci and Giovanni Grimaldi | style="text-align:center;"| <ref name="questo"/> |- !scope=row| ''What's New Pussycat?'' | Mayor's secretary | Clive Donner | cameo appearance | style="text-align:center;"| <ref name="Deluxe60"/> |- !scope=row| ''Highest Pressure (Altissima Pressione)'' | Herself | Enzo Trapani | musical performer | style="text-align:center;"| <ref name="larkin"/> |- | rowspan="4"| 1966 !scope=row| ''Devil at My Heels (Une balle au cœur)'' | Anna | Jean-Daniel Pollet | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| <ref name="HardyThree"/> |- !scope=row| ''Masculine Feminine'' | American officer's companion | Jean-Luc Godard | cameo appearance | style="text-align:center;"| <ref name="godard"/> |- !scope=row| ''Europe Sing (Europa Canta)'' | Herself | José Luis Merino | musical performer | style="text-align:center;"| <ref name="larkin"/> |- !scope=row| ''Grand Prix'' | Lisa | John Frankenheimer | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| <ref name="QuioneroCineaste"/> |- | 1968 !scope=row| ''Monte Carlo: It's The Rose (Monte Carlo: C'est La Rose)'' | Herself | Michael Pfleghar | television special | style="text-align:center;"| <ref name="larkin"/> |- | 1969 !scope=row| ''The Man Who Came From Cher (L'Homme Qui Venait du Cher)'' | Suzanne | Pierre Desfons | television film | style="text-align:center;"| <ref name="cher"/> |- | 1972 !scope=row| ''The Doves'' ({{ill|Les Colombes|fr|italic=yes}}) | Young hippie | Jean-Claude Lord | cameo appearance | style="text-align:center;"| <ref name="colombes">{{cite web |last=Ramond |first=Charles-Henri |date=6 October 2020 |title=Colombes, Les – Film de Jean-Claude Lord |trans-title=The Doves – Film by Jean-Claude Lord |url=https://www.filmsquebec.com/films/colombes-jean-claude-lord/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521075854/https://www.filmsquebec.com/films/colombes-jean-claude-lord/ |archive-date=21 May 2021 |access-date=21 May 2021 |publisher=Films du Québec |language=French}}</ref> |- | 1976 !scope=row| ''If I Had to Do It All Over Again (Si C'Était à Refaire)'' | Herself | Claude Lelouch | musical performer | style="text-align:center;"| <ref name="QuinoneroFilmography">Quinonero, 2017, "Annexe: Filmographie"</ref> |}
==Published works== ;Astrological * ''Le grand livre de la Vierge (The Great Book Of The Virgin'') (with Béatrice Guénin) (1979)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://booknode.com/le_grand_livre_de_la_vierge_0264192|title=Le grand livre de la Vierge|publisher=Booknode|accessdate=11 June 2024|archive-date=5 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505163334/http://booknode.com/le_grand_livre_de_la_vierge_0264192|url-status=live}}</ref> * ''Entre les lignes, entre les signes (Between The Lines, Between The Signs)'' (with Anne-Marie Simond) (1986) * ''L'astrologie universelle (Universal Astrology)'' (1987)<ref>{{cite web |title=L'astrologie universelle: Le zodiaque comme vous ne l'avez jamais vu (French Edition) |trans-title=Universal Astrology: The Zodiac as You've Never Seen It (French Edition) |url=https://www.abebooks.com/Lastrologie-universelle-zodiaque-lavez-jamais-French/31468886569/bd |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612012204/https://www.abebooks.com/Lastrologie-universelle-zodiaque-lavez-jamais-French/31468886569/bd |archive-date=12 June 2024 |accessdate=11 June 2024 |publisher=Abe books}}</ref> * ''Les rythmes du zodiaque (The Rhythms Of The Zodiac)'' (2003)<ref>{{cite book|url=https://mediatheque.chartres.fr/Default/doc/SYRACUSE/185255/les-rythmes-du-zodiaque-francoise-hardy?_lg=en-US|title=Les rythmes du zodiaque / Françoise Hardy|date=2003 |publisher=Madiatheque|isbn=978-2-7491-0101-9 |accessdate=11 June 2024|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612012254/https://mediatheque.chartres.fr/Default/doc/SYRACUSE/185255/les-rythmes-du-zodiaque-francoise-hardy?_lg=en-US|url-status=live}}</ref>
;Non-fiction * ''Notes secrètes: entretiens avec Eric Dumont (Secret Notes: Interviews With Eric Dumont)'' (1991) (interview)<ref>{{cite book|title=Notes secrètes : Françoise Hardy : entretiens avec Eric Dumont|publisher=Worldcat |oclc=30916651 }}</ref> * ''Le désespoir des singes... et autres bagatelles (The Despair Of The Monkeys... And Other Trifles)'' (2008) (autobiography)<ref>{{cite web |title=Le désespoir des singes et autres bagatelles |trans-title=The Despair of Monkeys and Other Trifles |url=https://www.babelio.com/livres/Hardy-Le-desespoir-des-singes-et-autres-bagatelles/90475 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240303034056/https://www.babelio.com/livres/Hardy-Le-desespoir-des-singes-et-autres-bagatelles/90475 |archive-date=3 March 2024 |accessdate=11 June 2024 |publisher=Babelio}}</ref> * ''Avis non autorisés... (Unauthorized Reviews...)'' (2015) (essay)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abebooks.com/9782290130124/Avis-autoris%C3%A9s-Documents-11527-French-2290130125/plp|title=Avis non autorisés|publisher=Abebooks|accessdate=11 June 2024|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612012210/https://www.abebooks.com/9782290130124/Avis-autoris%C3%A9s-Documents-11527-French-2290130125/plp|url-status=live}}</ref> * ''Un cadeau du ciel... (A Gift From Heaven...)'' (2016) (essay)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.babelio.com/livres/Hardy-Un-cadeau-du-ciel/903592|title=Un cadeau du ciel|publisher=Babelio|accessdate=11 June 2024|archive-date=15 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815104001/https://www.babelio.com/livres/Hardy-Un-cadeau-du-ciel/903592|url-status=live}}</ref> * ''Chansons sur toi et nous (Songs About You And Us)'' (2021) (songbook)<ref>{{cite web |title=Chansons sur toi et nous |trans-title=Songs about you and us |url=https://www.jailu.com/chansons-sur-toi-et-nous/9782290359761 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128223341/https://www.jailu.com/chansons-sur-toi-et-nous/9782290359761 |archive-date=28 November 2023 |accessdate=11 June 2024 |publisher=Jailu}}</ref>
;Novels * ''L'amour fou (Crazy Love)'' (2014)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=12925998800&cm_sp=plp-_-9782290070703-_-new|title=L'amour fou|publisher=Abebooks|accessdate=11 June 2024|archive-date=12 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612012251/https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=12925998800&cm_sp=plp-_-9782290070703-_-new|url-status=live}}</ref>
==See also== * French fashion * French rock music * List of astrologers * List of baroque pop artists * List of folk rock artists * List of French singers * List of yé-yé singers
==Footnotes== {{reflist|group=note}} {{Notelist}}
==References== {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
==Bibliography== * {{cite book|title=Sounds French: Globalization, Cultural Communities, and Pop Music in France, 1958–1980|first=Jonathyne|last=Briggs|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2015|isbn=978-0199377060}} * {{cite book|last=Deluxe|first=Jean-Emmanuel|publisher=Feral House|year=2013|isbn=978-1936239719|title=Yé-Yé Girls of '60s French Pop}} * {{cite book|title=The Despair of Monkeys and Other Trifles: A Memoir by Françoise Hardy|last=Hardy|first=Françoise |year=2018|translator-last1=Graham|translator-first1=Jon E.|publisher=Feral House|trans-title= Le désespoir des singes... et autres bagatelles|orig-year=2008|isbn=978-1-62731-0734|type=eBook}} * {{cite book | last = Lesueur | first = Daniel | title = Françoise Hardy: Catch a Rising Star | publisher = Camion Blanc | year = 2015 | isbn = 978-2357797666 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=a8aZCwAAQBAJ | language = fr | access-date = 31 May 2021 }} * {{cite book|last=Quinonero|first=Frédéric|year=2017|language=French|publisher=Éditions l'Archipel|title=Françoise Hardy, un long chant d'amour|isbn=978-2809822267|type=eBook}}
==External links== {{commons}} * {{Official website|http://www.francoise-hardy.com/}} {{in lang|fr}} * {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=mn0000186594|label=Françoise Hardy}} * [https://www.discogs.com/artist/457980-Fran%C3%A7oise-Hardy Françoise Hardy] at Discogs * {{IMDb name|id=0362634|name=Françoise Hardy}} * [https://www.last.fm/music/Fran%C3%A7oise+Hardy Françoise Hardy] at Last.fm * [https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/11186/francoise-hardy/ Françoise Hardy] at the Official Charts Company
{{s-start}} {{succession box | before=François Deguelt<br /> with ''Dis rien'' | title=Monaco in the Eurovision Song Contest | years=1963 | after=Romuald Figuier<br /> with ''Où sont-elles passées'' }} {{s-end}}
{{Françoise Hardy}} {{Monaco in the Eurovision Song Contest|state=collapsed}} {{Eurovision Song Contest 1963|state=collapsed}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardy, Francoise}} Category:Françoise Hardy Category:1944 births Category:2024 deaths Category:20th-century French women writers Category:20th-century French women musicians Category:20th-century French women singers Category:21st-century French women musicians Category:21st-century French women writers Category:21st-century French women singers Category:Deaths from laryngeal cancer in France Category:English-language French singers Category:French astrologers Category:French astrological writers Category:French autobiographers Category:French women pop singers Category:French women singer-songwriters Category:German-language French singers Category:Italian-language French singers Category:Eurovision Song Contest entrants Category:Singers from Paris Category:Reprise Records artists Category:Spanish-language French singers Category:Virgin Records artists Category:Vogue Schallplatten artists Category:Wikipedia articles containing unlinked shortened footnotes Category:Yé-yé singers Category:21st-century French writers Category:20th-century French writers Category:21st-century French guitarists Category:20th-century French guitarists Category:French actresses Category:Guitarists from Paris