Where is 1950s Icon Connie Francis Now?
Connie Francis, the beloved pop icon of the ’50s and ’60s, is best known for her chart-topping hits like “Who’s Sorry Now,” “Stupid Cupid,” and “Where the Boys Are.” At 87, she’s not only one of the most successful female vocalists of her time but also a survivor of unimaginable personal tragedy. From a forbidden romance with Bobby Darin to losing her voice for years, enduring sexual assault, surviving multiple hospitalizations for misdiagnosed mental illness and dealing with her brother’s murder, Francis’ journey has been anything but easy. Now retired and living in Florida, the singer is enjoying renewed attention thanks to a viral TikTok trend that’s reintroducing her music to a whole new generation. Which begs the question, what else has she been up to?
Born Concetta Rosemarie Franconero on December 12, 1937, in Newark, New Jersey, Francis grew up a smart and ambitious girl who originally dreamed of becoming a doctor. However, after winning Arthur Godfrey’s Startime Talent Scouts at just 12 years old and becoming a regular on the show, she was encouraged to change her last name to something easier to pronounce and she became Connie Francis.
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Even after signing with MGM Records in the mid-’50s, success didn’t come easy. After a string of flops, Francis nearly gave it all up for pre-med at NYU. But her father insisted she record the old tune “Who’s Sorry Now,” and everything changed.
When Dick Clark played the song on American Bandstand in 1958, it exploded. Suddenly, the young girl with the booming voice was the most popular female vocalist in the country. More hits followed, including “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool,” “Don’t Break the Heart That Loves You,” and the title track from her first movie, Where the Boys Are.
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That 1960 film helped define a generation’s idea of spring break and made Francis a household name. While her career was booming, her personal life wasn’t going as well. Her relationship with singer Bobby Darin, whom she once called the love of her life, was cut short by her father, who didn’t approve. Darin eventually moved on and married Sandra Dee. Francis later admitted she never quite got over him. Their story and a lot more about Darin’s life is explored in a new play about his life called Just in Time, starring Tony Award winner Jonathan Groff.
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But back to Francis … the tragedies in her life didn’t stop there. In 1974, after a performance in New York, she was raped in her hotel room and the horrible experience led to her staying out of the spotlight for years — but her successful lawsuit helped lead to major changes in hotel safety across the country.
Then came the murder of her brother, reportedly by mob gunmen in front of his New Jersey home. She suffered a miscarriage, four failed marriages and multiple involuntary commitments to psychiatric hospitals after being misdiagnosed with manic-depressive disorder. She also lost her voice for seven years after nasal surgery. “Losing my voice was like a surgeon losing his hands,” she once said to Growing Bolder.
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Today, Francis is retired and living quietly in Florida, enjoying dinners with friends in Boca Raton and staying out of the spotlight. She remains deeply connected to her fans. In 2010, she became a national spokesperson for Mental Health America, using her own struggles to advocate for others dealing with depression, trauma, and PTSD, especially among veterans.
While she no longer performs live, her music is finding a new audience. Her 1962 song “Pretty Little Baby” recently went viral on TikTok thanks to a trend where users show off their favorite outfits while lip-syncing to the tune. The song even jumped into the app’s Viral 50 chart.
If you’re interested in learning more about her life, her memoir, Among My Souvenirs: The Real Story, Vol. 1, offers a candid, emotional look back at her journey. When asked how she wants to be remembered, Francis said, “Not so much for the heights I have reached, but for the depths from which I have come.”
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Collecting the 1950s
Aug. 2022
For fans of the Nifty Fifties enjoy this treasure trove of ’50s memorabilia.
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