Connie Francis

Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (/ˌfræŋkoʊˈnɪəroʊ/ FRANG-koh-NEER-oh; December 12, 1937 – July 16, 2025), known professionally as Connie Francis, was an American singer and actress. One of the top-charting female vocalists of the late 1950s and early 1960s, she amassed over 100 million records sold, placing her among the best-selling music artists in history.

After a string of unsuccessful releases, Francis rose to fame in 1958 with her cover of the 1923 song "Who's Sorry Now?", which was followed by various other top-10 hits. She became the first woman to reach No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart when "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" topped the chart in 1960. She was also the first woman to achieve three No. 1 hits on the chart, among her 53 career entries. Before the advent of the British Invasion, Francis was the most popular female vocalist in the United States between 1958 and 1964.

Francis recorded music in multiple languages, including English, Italian, French, German, Greek, Yiddish, and Japanese, making her a best-selling artist in international markets as well as in American immigrant communities.