Singer Connie Francis dead at 87

The "Who's Sorry Now" singer died Wednesday night, according to a Thursday morning statement from her manager, Ron Roberts. The ‘50s and ‘60s pop star produced a number of hit songs like “Who’s Sorry Now”, “Where the Boys Are”, and “Lipstick on Your Collar”. She made history in 1961 as the first female singer to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100 with her song “Everybody's Somebody's Fool”. Her music also saw a revival among younger generations with her songs “Stupid Cupid” and “Pretty Little Baby” surging in popularity across social media platforms months before her death.

Francis, born Concetta Franconero, changed her name at the age of 13 before breaking into the music scene years later with her 1957 hit, “Who’s Sorry Now”. About a decade later, Francis received cosmetic surgery to narrow her nose, which ultimately impacted her ability to breathe and sing. She underwent several more surgeries to fix the breathing issue, which wasn’t corrected until 1981. In 1974, Francis was raped at a motel in Long Island after performing at a nearby music festival. She successfully sued the motel chain for failing to provide adequate security and received a $2.5 million settlement, which was recognized at the time as one of the largest rape case settlements.

What caused her death? She was hospitalized about two weeks before her death after experiencing serious pain, according to a July 2 update. The singer underwent a number of tests to help diagnose the pain and remained under medical supervision in the hospital, according to an update about a week before her death. Roberts did not specify the cause of death in his Thursday statement.