Inside Connie Francis' Devastating Life: Iconic 'Pretty Little Baby' Singer Suffered Brutal Rape and a Near-Overdose Before Her Tragic Death at Age 87
Connie Francis was 87.
July 17 2025, Published 5:32 p.m. ET
Connie Francis, who passed away Wednesday at age 87, suffered through multiple personal tragedies she wasn't afraid to address.
The classic singer, whose 1960's song Pretty Little Baby became a viral anthem on TikTok, survived multiple failed marriages, a brutal rape at knifepoint and a near-death overdose on sleeping pills.
The award-winning singer had many hits through the years.
Her manager, Ron Roberts, shared on Facebook: "It is with a heavy heart and extreme sadness that i inform you of the passing of my dear friend Connie Francis last night.
"I know that Connie would approve that her fans are among the first to learn of this sad news."
Francis had spent most of July in the ICU with an undisclosed illness. On July 2, she told fans on Facebook: "I am back in hospital where I have been undergoing tests and checks to determine the cause(s) of the extreme pain I have been experiencing."
Later that day she was transported to her own room, and expressed hope and optimism in her final post, on July 4.
"Today I am feeling much better after a good night, and wanted to take this opportunity of wishing you all a happy Fourth of July," she shared. "Thank you all for your continued kind thoughts and prayers. A happy Independence Day to you and your loved ones."
She ended the note: "Love, Connie."
Lost Lover
The singer's memoir, released after she was raped in a hotel, was a New York Times bestseller.
Francis had lots of love to give throughout her life, having been married four times. But her true love, Mack the Knife crooner Bobby Darin, tragically died at age 37, after surgery to repair two heart valves.
In a 2016 interview, she shared: "I loved Bobby until the day he died ... and beyond. Bobby was dynamic, full of energy, intelligent and determined. I adored him."
However, Connie's father was not a fan and forbade their love.
She continued to love him in secret, even during his seven-year marriage to actress Sandra Dee. But Darin spread his love around. In her 2018 memoir Among My Souvenirs, Francis recounted walking in on the singer in a Las Vegas hotel room "in the buff while two hookers were actively writhing on the floor."
"So glad to see your mojo is still working," a furious Francis fired off, to which Darin replied: "Bad timing, baby. The friggin’ worst."
Harrowing Moment
Francis became viral on TikTok.
Elsewhere in her book, she shared the harrowing moment on Nov. 7, 1974, when after performing at New York’s Westbury Music Theater, a knife-wielding man broke into her motel room, demanded money and raped her.
Francis wrote: "I was yanked by my hair and thrown down on my back. It took me a moment to realize, 'My God, this is no dream.'"
After the rape, her attacker tied a naked, brutalized Francis to a chair and nearly smothered her with two double mattresses before warning her to keep quiet for at least 30 minutes after he’d left.
"'Scream and I’ll kill you,'" he threatened.
Hooked on Pills
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Her manager shared news of her death.
In a final candid moment, Francis revealed she became hooked on amphetamines while trying to lose weight in 1963. After plummeting to 98 pounds, family and friends begged her to quit.
"But I was hooked," she recalled. "I never thought it could happen to me. But I couldn’t stop."
In 1978, after divorcing her third husband, Joe, Francis came close to ending her pain with a sleeping pill overdose. But her five-year-old adopted son, Joey, wandered into her room – and saved her life.
"It was as if an angel from God had come," she said.
