Francoise Hardy

At 80 years old, Francoise Hardy has this physical status:

Françoise Madeleine Hardy (born 17 January 1944) is a French singer-songwriter.

"Tous les garçons et les filles" was her debut on Disques Vogue in the early 1960s and found immediate success.

Hardy, a leading figure in the French music scene, "found herself at the forefront of France's most exportable female singing phenomenon" and went "France's most popular female singer" on record, appearing in films, touring throughout Europe, and winning accolades from musicians such as Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, and Mick Jagger.

Hardy began modeling with photographer Jean-Marie Périer, and soon became a well-known fashion icon as the yé-yé period came to an end.

She began collaborating with more experienced writers, such as Serge Gainsbourg and Patrick Modiano.

Her 1971 album La question marked a turning point in her career, transitioning to a more mature style; it remains her best known work and has spawned a dedicated following over the years.

Hardy's meteorology career in the 1970s and 1960s marked the start of the author's famed position as an expert and writer on the subject.

The singer has also been dubbed a gay icon, and she has "repeatedly stated that her most devoted friends and supporters are gay." Several of her songs and albums have appeared in critics' lists.

Early life

During World War II, Françoise Madeleine Hardy was born at the Marie-Louise Clinic in Paris's 9th arrondissement. An air raid warning was in place at the time of her birth, with the clinic's windows "exploding." She has recalled growing up in a "normally anxious attitude" that she exhibited as an adult. Françoise and her younger sister Michèle were born eighteen months after she—as a single parent. Étienne Dillard, a married man who came from a much wealthier family, did little to assist them financially and was largely absent in their upbringing, with only visiting the children a few times a year. Madeleine Hardy raised her children mainly in a modest apartment on the 9th arrondissement's Rue d'Aumale street. Hardy had an unhappy and unhappy childhood, and the majority of them were engaged in solitary hobbies such as reading, playing with dolls, or listening to the radio. The girls were sent to Institution La Bruyère, a Catholic school run by Trinitarian nuns on the spur of their father. The void in social origins between Hardy and her classmates was a source of permanent humiliation for her. "This is most likely where the sense of dread that has rroiled me non-stop since I was a child has arisen," she recalled in her autobiography. Everything fell into place: the social status of my parents, who I ostensibly believed were divorced, (...) the good sisters' constant rumors that my dad was a year behind on his payments, and the numerous differences with the other girls." Her lifelong illness was fueled by her regular visits to her maternal grandmother in Aulnay-sous-Bois, who "told [her] that [she] was unattractive and a bad person." Hardy and her sister were sent every summer to Austria to learn German, helped by her mother's new boyfriend, an Austrian baron. Hardy was encouraged to begin piano lessons as a young child, but she quickly dropped out after experiencing stage fright when she was supposed to perform her talents onstage at the Salle Gaveau.

Hardy, a disciplined student, skipped two years of secondary school and graduated with baccalauréat in 1960 at the age of 16. Her father asked her what she would like for Christmas, and she chose a guitar, with which she began to perform her own melodies. Following her mother's orders, she enrolled in the Paris Institute of Political Studies as a student. Considering that it was too difficult, she departed the school and enrolled the Sorbonne in German studies right away. Hardy used the hours off from her studies to dedicate herself to writing songs on her guitar. She began to try her repertoire on the tiny stage of Moka Club, also known as Club des mordus, where she performed every Thursday "in front of a captive audience." After reading an advertisement in France-Soir, she auditioned for record label Pathé-Marconi. Even though she was turned down, Hardy was delighted that she had piqued the directors' interest for longer than she expected. She felt encouraged after hearing her recorded voice, which she found "less off-key and tremulous than [she] feared." The young singer went back to Philips Records, where she was encouraged to take singing lessons. Hardy joined Le Petit Conservatoire de la chanson in 1961, France's first of its kind, led by singer Mireille Hartuch. The Petit Conservatoire was first launched as a radio show in 1955 and was turned into a famous television show starting in June 1960. If a student gave a good show, they were able to broadcast it on the radio or even film it again for television. Hartuch, a girl who was known to be a skeptic, accepted Hardy straight away, recalling in 1966: "I didn't know if she sang, if she played guitar, what she was doing, there was a spark, something that lit up." They formed a "mother-daughter" relationship and a long friendship based on mutual admiration.

Personal life

Hardy met Salut Les Copains photographer Jean-Marie Périer in mid-1962 and soon began a romantic and career partnership. The couple never married together and were constantly separated because of their respective work commitments, which put the couple's friendship in jeopardy. They started working together in 1966 but have been close friends and collaborators ever since. In 1967, Hardy began her long-awaited friendship with fellow singer Jacques Dutronc. They had a distant relationship and did not live together until after the birth of their only child, son Thomas, on June 16, 1973. Hardy and Dutronc joined together in a three-story house near Parc Montsouris in 1974, with separate bedrooms. The family moved to Dutronc's Lumio on the island of Corsica each summer. Thomas Dutronc, a young adult, also started a career as a performer.

Hardy and Dutronc were married in a private ceremony away from the public's view on March 30, 1981. They formalized their relationship for "fiscal reasons," Hardy said in 1989: "I don't know if I should write about this stuff but at the time, I had a little health condition and because I am of a hyper-anxious, hypochondriac temperament, I can imagine myself in Heaven or in Hell." So I had to visit a lawyer to see what would happen if something happened to me. As a result, and if anything happened to me, everyone was interested in Jacques and I's marriage. That's why we got married.

Stupidly!

I have always thought of marriage as an uninteresting formality. The couple broke in late 1988 after having a turbulent marriage, exacerbated by infidelities on both directions and Dutronc's alcoholism. Despite this, they never got divorced, and their friendship developed into one of a "unique friendship." Hardy told Le Parisien in 2016 that though Dutronc resurfaced his life with a new spouse, it is not one who wants to divorce. "I told him one day, a long time ago, that he needed to make a promise." 'I'll never get a divorce,' he told me, and that's when he said to me, 'I'll never get a divorce.'

What do you want me to say?"

In depth, Hardy has explored the intimacies of her family's history, including the tragic fate of her father and younger sister. She learned that her distant father lived a double life as a secluded homosexual after one of his teenage lovers bragged about his financial assistance to one of Dutronc's relatives in the 1980s. "The revelation that someone is a homosexual is not surprising on its own, even if it is your own father," she wrote in 2008, "the fact that young guys were picking up young boys at the age of almost eighty surprised me, despite the loneliness and humiliation associated with such degraded behavior." He died in hospital on February 6, 1981, presumably by a young male prostitute, a cause that was not announced by the time by the time. Hardy's sister was raised without the love of their parents, and it became suicidal, maniacal schizophrenic. She was discovered dead at her L'île-Rousse home in late May 2004, possibly a suicide.

Hardy was diagnosed with MALT lymphoma in late 2004-to-early 2005, kicking off a "good period" that had disrupted her life. The singer's recovery was then reversed by chemotherapy treatment, which was initially fruitful. Hardy's illness worsened in March 2015, and she had to be admitted to the hospital, where she was put into an artificial coma and almost died. The singer also broke her hip and elbow while hospitalized. "I am very lonely, very sick by illness," she told Le Figaro last month. About ten years ago, I was diagnosed with lymphoma. However, my symptoms have exacerbated in recent three years. Walking has also been a challenge for me. (...) There are times when I absolutely cannot see anyone and cannot go out. However, I am optimistic, I live from day to day, I have no right to worry about it, and it does not obsess me." The singer underwent further chemotherapy and immunotherapy sessions.

Her health has since deteriorated, and in 2021 she made national news for physician-assisted suicide in France, expressing her desire to have recourse to euthanasia. "It's absolutely appalling," she told RTL's Flavie Flame, but for the time being, I'm hopeful." I'm learning to cook for myself.

As long as I can do that, okay!

However, if it does get worse, if I am immobile to the point of not being able to do anything, I would seriously consider euthanasia. I cannot sit here waiting for death because I can't live anymore. "I can't do the things that my life demands." She also stated that due to the effects of the treatments, she was unable to perform anymore.

Hardy, a public figure, is known for her candity in regard to her often divisive political views, which have been referred to as right-wing. "I kept the sensitivity," she said in a Gaullist family. I don't like anything that has been said or done on the right, and I don't denigrate anything that has been done or said on the left. To be honest, I'm fairly centrist." "I only identify with ecology, which I firmly believe is neither right nor left," she wrote in her 2008 autobiography, but the fact that I am not a puppet of the established authority will almost certainly be enough to pigeonhole me."

Hardy was interviewed by the magazine Rockland in 1988 in an interview that swayed into political news as the presidential election took place the day before. Hardy, who was under the assumption that the off-the-record discussion would not be included in the final article, expressed her disdism for people on the left. Although being outraged by the media's coverage of the political debate, Hardy defended her position on May 13 in a televised interview with Thierry Ardisson in which she recalled an altercation with singer Renaud based on which she defended her for her support for Minister of Culture François Léotard. "We don't talk about anti-French racism, we're more likely to enter if you are not French," she said in a Rockland interview, prompting outrage over her remarks about anti-French racism that "we do not talk about," she said; "those who see it everywhere could actually be sowing its seeds." "I have been more aware of the ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural differences that separate individuals," the singer later wrote in her autobiography: "I have been more aware of the cultural, socioeconomic, and cultural differences that divide individuals." However, I do agree that the affinities of the heart and soul weigh more on the scales, as well as the ability of turning opposites into complementarities."

Hardy was a vocal opponent of the solidarity tax on wealth (French: impôt de solidarité survives la fortune; ISF). "I believe that most people are unaware of the harm that the ISF causes to people in my category," she said in 2010, citing the government of Nicolas Sarkozy's tax reform, and sparking scandal in 2012 when attacking François Hollande's tax reforms during the presidential election. "I am compelled to sell my house and move out because I'm almost 70 years old and sick." "But no mother, don't worry, I'll bring you over to my house just in case," Thomas Dutronc wrote on Twitter. Annoyed by her appearances, the singer later stated: "I did not talk of the 'tragedy' of people who pay the ISF. The tragedy is that people are losing their jobs as a result of offshoring and the crisis, as well as those who read about every day in the newspapers. I never said that I was going to be homeless. It's absurd. And also less that I was going to go into exile!"

Hardy has voiced her support for abortion law while still refraining from feminism. "It is better to forego having a child if you are not able to provide the essential nutrients and time required for it to grow into a healthy, balanced adult," she wrote in 2008. (...) We hear more about rights in contemporary French society than we do inseparable duties. This can be seen in how the feminist discourse has pushed women to do what they please with their own bodies, while passing through silence — exactly like the puritan position — the children's destiny should take precedence over everything else. In her essay "Avis non permissable...", she wrote: "I find them surly, ugly, not feminine for two cents." I've never been able to identify with feminists in any way. "I could have imagined some that I should have imagined."

Hardy expressed her support for President Emmanuel Macron during French protests between 2017 and 2018. People in France don't want to know the truth and are trapped in the Marxist ideology. President Macron is an idealist but not an ideologue, and he is firmly grounded in truth, which is what I like about him."

Source

Music career

Hardy auditioned for the French label Disques Vogue on May 14th, 1961, where directors Serge Goron and Léo Vidaly, who had recommended that she take music theory and harmony lessons with a pianist, welcomed her. André Bernot, a Vogue sound engineer who felt she "would make a good record cover" who promised to teach her some basic music theory in order to improve her sense of rhythm, was taken seriously by her good looks. Bernot did a four-track demo with her later that day, after she submitted a four-track demo to Jacques Wolfsohn, the most influential director at Vogue. Wolfsohn was searching for a female singer to record "Oh chéri," a French-language translation of Bobby Lee Trammell's "Uh Oh" at the time. Wolfsohn immediately offered her a one-year deal, which she signed on November 14, 1961, following an audition in person. Mireille Hartuch donated her student at the Petit Conservatoire TV show on Friday, "one of the most popular French TV extracts of all time" upon finding out about Hardy's new record contract. The hostess asked the young singer what the English word "yeah!" in a long-awaited chat.

yeah!"

She sang of "La fille with toi" on her guitar after she sang "La fille with toi" on her guitar. "yé-yé" was later popularized by sociologists Edgar Morin in an article in Le Monde on July 7, 1963, in which he critiqued the burgeoning youth-led pop music scene. The yé-yé phenomenon was spawned by the internationally famous radio program Salut les copains, created by Daniel Filipacchi, and a very popular magazine of the same name.

Vogue published her first extended play in May 1962, which included "Oh chéri," "J'sui le d'accord," "J'suis d'accord," "J'suis d'accord" and the sentimental ballad "Tous les garçons et les filles," which despite her wishes was relegated to a B-side because the brand deemed it too melancholic for young audiences. The singer sleeve at the Petit Conservatoire on June 5th, 1962. In early October, Hardy shot a black-and-white music video for "Tous les garçons et les filles," directed by Pierre Badel, which aired on television show Toute la chanson. Despite Wolfsohn's reluctance to promote the album, the song was chosen at Hardy and the show's producer André Salvet's initiative. On the evening of October 28, 1962, when the clip was rebroadcast during an interlude of the televised results of the presidential election referendum, Hardy was introduced to the vast majority of French people. The exposure helped the song to a lot of young people, particularly teenage girls, thanks to the radio stations' ample airplay, beginning with youth-favorite Europe n° 1. A Scopitone music video directed by Claude Lelouch, which depicts the singer in an amusement ride with two girls whose skirts are lifted by the wind, "tres garçons et les filles" was even more popular.

Vogue released two more EPs simultaneously, along with the first one on a debut studio album titled Tous les garçons et les filles, building on the song's popularity. The LP style was initially viewed with skepticism, so Hardy's first collection of albums was of previously released four-track, 7-inch records, a style that was also known as "super 45 [rpm]]. The majority of her full-length albums were released without a title or bearing only her name on the cover, and she was referred to by the name of their most famous song. The Trophée de la Télévision award, as well as the coveted Grand Prix du Disque award won by Académie Charles Cros, followed her debut studio album. "It would have made me even more happy if I had it a little later for better made than this," the singer said. Hardy made her debut as a live performer with other young singers at Nancy's Disco Revue gala on May 11, 1962. She appeared on Christmas Eve in Brussels and underwent a fruitful tour in Southern France from late 1962 to early 1963. "Touch les garçons et les filles" had been selling in France by early 1963, with two and a half million in the ensuing months.

"J'suis daccord," "Le temps de l'amour," and "Tous les garçons et les filles" were top the French singles' charts from late 1962 to early 1963. She graced the cover of Paris Match in January 1963 as a pioneer of song and music, as well as an agreement with Editions Musicales Alpha, created by Wolfsohn. Hardy appeared on TV show Cinq colonnes à la une in February 1963, alongside Sylvie Vartan and Sheila; they would go on to be ranked as the three key idols of the yé-yé period, each representing a specific modern girl archetype. She appeared in Paris on the third of that month for the first time. Richard Anthony opened for her at the prestigious Olympia concert hall. Hardy performed well in the Gala des Stars concert tour promoted by Europe n° 1 and Salut les copains between February 26 February and April 10th. "L'amour s'en Vain" was the tour's longest female appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest in London, where she took second place between two of the tour's dates; she finished fifth with 25 points, equal to France's Alain Barrière. No one said "l'amour s'en vain" until it was no longer available. In June 1963, the French charts reached the 5th position. Hardy's second studio album Le premier bonheur du jour was released in October. She received the "Youth" Edison Award at the Grand Gala du Disque in Scheveningen, Netherlands, in that month. Author Godfried Bomans praised her as a "creative artist" who knew how to create "a personal style without attempting to imitate the Americans. Hardy appeared on the Olympia stage again between 7 November and December 1963, earning acclaim from the public, who had chastised her brusque live performances.

Hardy, the country's most popular female singer, became a front figure of the yé-yé craze. Starting in 1963, translated re-recordings of "Too les garçons et les filles" began to be exported to Italian, German, and English-speaking markets. The first foreign-language country where the singer found success was Italy, where the song became "Quelli della età" and sold 255,000 copies, as well as falling to second place between July and August, behind Rita Pavone's "Cuore." She recorded new songs in Milan at the end of the summer, which were included in the Italian release Françoise Hardy canta per voi in italiano. The single "La belle dellamore" / "E all'amore che penso" / "E amore che penso" also topped the Italian charts. As part of the Sederna Espaola's fourth Great Gala, Hardy performed in Barcelona, Spain, on October 11th. She began her first Italian tour in November 1963, mainly visiting small coastal towns. In late 1963, the singer appeared on several television shows in Portugal and returned to Lisbon.

Hardy tried to modernize her music during the British Invasion period by switching from French studios and sound engineers to record her songs in London's Pye Records' studios. She began working with producer Tony Hatch in February 1964 and released an EP that included a back cover of "Touch a Boy" ("Mate et les filles"), "Only Friends" ("Le ami"), and "I Wish It Were Me" ("J'aurais voulu" ("J'aurais voulu"). On TV show Ready Steady Go!, she promoted "Catch a Falling Star" on February 21. With "Tous les garçons et les filles" debuting on the UK Singles Chart in 1964 at number one, English audiences initially preferred her French music, the English audiences flocked to her English versions on July 1, 1964.

"All Over the World," a 1965 English-language single, was a huge success in the United Kingdom, peaking at the top of the charts for 15 weeks and remaining in the Top 20. It was also extremely popular in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, with arguably being her most popular recording among English-speaking audiences. Ready Steady Go!, Ollie and Fred's Five O'Clock Club, Thank Your Lucky Stars, and Top of the Pops was the song promoted by Janet.

Hardy moved to New York City in 1965 to sign a historic deal with Kapp, which allowed them to sell her songs in the United States. Hardy performed "However Much" in the United States, the label's debut studio album under the name "Yeh" Girl From Paris!, as well as the single "However Much"—a Spanish-language version of Charles Trenet's "Que reste-t-il de nos amours"; in the United States, the label's "Et même" appeared in American television. "The Girl from Ipanema" is a film that includes "The Girl from Ipanema."

After her appearance on television show Portrait in Musik on April 28, 1965, the singer made her German debut in a series of staged musical performances directed by Truck Branss, she became well known overnight. The album In Germany was released just shy of being released, and it contained translated versions of her previous works as well as five original compositions. "Frag'n Abendwind," her most popular track in Germany, remained in the national singles' chart for twenty-four weeks.

Hardy performed in the San Diego Music Festival in 1966, where she met the Edoardo Vianello-penned song "Parlami di te" and was pushed into the finals.

Hardy was one of the forty-six performers featured in Jean-Marie Périer's famous group photograph of the century on April 12, 1966, and became known in France as the "photo of the century" (French: "photo du siècle").

Hardy began releasing her songs under her own production company Asparagus in late 1967, although Vogue continued to sell them. "Wolfsohn had guessed that the singers were going to be more and more independent," she later regretted. So it was he who suggested that I build a production house. I was first seduced, but then I learned that it was a trap: the CEO of Vogue, Léon Cabat, was also employed in this company, and the majority of the shares were owned by them. A lot of bullying has resulted in bullying and lawsuits." Ma jeunesse fout le camp, her seventh French studio album and first one released under Asparat, was released in November 1967.

During June 1967, Hardy appeared in Kinshasa, Congo, for the last three live performances.

Hardy's second English-language album in 1968, also known as En anglais, The Second English Album, Will You Love Me Tomorrow and Loving, depending on the region.

Hardy attempted to assert herself as an artist in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but this entailed less commercial consequence than that which she had achieved with Disques Vogue. The singer's name fell out with the brand and signed a three-year deal with Sonopresse, Hachette's subsidiary. She founded Hypopotam, a new production firm, and Kundalini, her own music publishing company. Sonopresse gave Hardy a huge advance, allowing her to finance her own projects. As she was now able to concentrate on her music, she has described this period as "the best time" in her life. Françoise's French debut, as well as the studio albums One-Nine-Seven-Zero, her last German-language release, sparked this transitional period in her career.

Soleil was her first French studio album under Hypopotamation, and it was released in the spring of 1970. It featured a diverse range of 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, including Bernard Estardy, Jean-Claude Vannier, Jean-Claude Vannier, Jean-Pierre Sabar, Jean-Pierre Sabar, Jean-Pierre Sabar, Jean-Pierre Sabar, Nero and the Gladiators Hardy's penultimate Italian-language single "Lungo il mare," written by Giuseppe Torrebruno, Luigi Albertelli, and Donato Renzetti, appeared in the summer of 1970. This one nor the next Italian single, which featured translated versions of "Soleil" ("Sole ti amo") and "Le granchio")—noblers" (Il granchio")—died with success. For the first time, she sang of "Sol" ("Sol") and "J'ai coupé le téléphone" ("Corté el teléfono" ("Corté el teléfono") in Spanish. Hardy released "T'es pas poli" in the spring of 1971, bringing the singer-songwriter to the stage after being captivated by his appearances at the Café de la Gare in Paris. Dewaere and the singer performed it on several television shows to promote the album. Despite relying on Hardy's fame, the album did not sell as expected.

Hardy met Tuca—pseudonym of Valeniza Zagni da Silva, a Brazilian singer and guitarist based in Paris in the early 1970s—and they soon became close friends. After attending the Festival Internacional da Canço in Rio de Janeiro and coming into contact with Brazil's music, Hardy decided to record an album with the Brazilian musician in late 1970. It was the first time in the singer's career that she was able to work with a songwriter on songs before stepping into the recording studio, in addition to participating in the selection of string arrangements. The resulting album, La question, was released on October 16, 1971, and was promoted through the singles "Le martien," "Même sous la pluie," and "Rêve." Despite being lauded by the French press on its first release, the album failed to gain traction on radio stations and among audiences at the time, and it was difficult to gain traction on television stations and audiences alike. Nonetheless, La question has spawned a dedicated fanbase since its inception and is considered as Hardy's greatest artistic peak.

The singer reflected in 2008:

Hardy decided to pursue a new sound after La question's poor commercial success, and recruited British arranger Tony Cox to produce her following album. The record was released in November 1972 and promoted through the single "La berlue," which was translated to "the orange album" in reference to its packaging, and "the orange album" was released in reference to its cover. Just after finishing Et si je m'en vais avant toi, Harty and Cox released If You Listen, an English-language compilation that included cover versions of several little-known American and British songs. Hardy's Sonopresse period, which had off to a promising start thanks to Comment te dire adieu's success. Et si je viens en vais avant toi and If You Listen — La La question's commercial demise — ended on a sad note for Soleil, who said she loved her "best [albums] by far." Since her deal came to an end, the record company decided not to renew it. The singer was largely unbothered by poor sales, feeling that she had been artistically vindicated with these songs.

After being impressed by his collaboration with Véronique Sanson around 1972, Hardy contacted songwriter and producer Michel Berger with the intention of working with him. Berger promised to produce and arrange her upcoming album, but she was unable to write any of the songs due to other commitments. He wrote two of the album's twelve songs, "Message personnel" and "Première rencontre," and assumed the responsibility for locating the other ten immediately after, which Hardy found to be subpar in comparison. Following a period of artistic freedom, the singer discovered herself again in the midst of a tumultuous schedule of a demanding producer. Berger later described her as "a man in a hurry, with a thousand things to do, a thousand things to consider, and a thousand people to see." The album's recording sessions took place in July 1973, just after Hardy gave birth to her son Thomas Dutronc. Message personnel were fired on Warner Bros. Records in the year of 2003, with whom Hardy is also a three-year contract — and the company was welcomed with commercial and critical success. Its title track, which revived the singer's career, was a big commercial success in France. She promoted the project on several French television shows, including Dimanche Salvador, Sports en fête, La Une est à vous, Minuit chez vous, Tempo, Averty's Follies, and Domino.

Hardy wrote ten songs that revolved around a common, underlying tale for her upcoming project. Catherine Lara, Jean-Pierre Castelain and Gérard Kawczynski (with whom she had worked in Message personnel), André Georget and Michel Sivy were mainly relied on to bring the words to music. Entr'acte, which was produced by Hughes de Courson, was released in November 1974 and marketed through the songs "Ce soir," "Je te cherche," and "Il a eu des nuits." It was a corporate failure. The singer then decided to avoid music and devote more time to raising her child, releasing only two singles between 1975 and 1976. "Que vas-tu faire?" was Jean-Michel Jarre's narrator. "Le compte a rebours" is backed by "Le compte a rebours," the company said, but it failed. The second one was "Femme parmi les femmes," Claude Lelouch's film Si c'était à refaire's main subject, with lyrics by Pierre Barouh and music by Francis Lai.

Berger contacted Hardy with the intention of bringing her to his new record company Apache, and she sent him the albums "Ton enfance," "Star" and "L'impasse" around 1976. Berger, on the other hand, was keen on releasing an album with compositions based around a unifying theme, so she abandoned the possibility of joining the label. She has since signed a three-year deal with Pathé-Marconi.

Gabriel Yared, producer and arranger for 1977's Star, her first album under the banner of Pathé-Marconi, was released by the French Republic. Six songs by Hardy are included in the "patchwork album," as well as songs by Serge Gainsbourg, William Sheller, Catherine Lara, Luc Plamondon, Roland Vincent, and Michel Jonasz. Their relationship was tense at first, and Star was caught in a "tense atmosphere," earning her the nickname "ice queen." "The singer deemed it necessary to ban any mistaking, physical or sentimental, right away before being absorbed into a faithful friendship," Frédéric Quinonero said. The singer's career brought her work back to a younger generation of young people. Despite their tense love in the recording studio, Hardy and Yared will continue to perform together for almost six years and have produced five albums. In 1991, the singer recalled her first encounter with the producer: 'Her's 1991.

Yared, Alain Goldstein, and Michel Jonasz composed compositions for her 1978 sequel Musique saoûle. The album changed Hardy's musical direction to a more danceable sound with commercial success, aided by the success of lead singer "J'écoute de la musique saoule" and its extended remix version. It was promoted through intensive television broadcasting of the singer's "awkwardly" performing the track in front of a dancing audience. Yared and collaborator Bernard Ilous worked on her following 1980 album Gin Tonic with an even more commercial approach, fuelled by the success of "J'écoute de la musique saoule" with young people. Its album cover was designed to showcase a "furiously modern" portrait of the singer, photographed by a Façade photographer, a French magazine modelled after Andy Warhol's journal Influence. Gin Tonic was promoted through singles "Jazz rétro Satanas" and "Juke-box," but only the former saw modest commercial success. Despite reduced sales and mixed reviews, the singer's respectability remained strong, and she was invited as a distinguished guest on Numéro Un's television show Numéro Un in 1980. On label Flarenasch, Hardy's following album traces was first released in April 1981, in violation of Interrupti's employment with Pathé-Marconi. It featured a new group of collaborators, possibly because of her dissatisfaction with her previous recordings—with Yared enlisting composers Louis Chedid, Pierre Groscolas, Jean-Claude Vannier, Michel Bernholc, Daniel Perpetayre, and Étienne Roda-Gil. Following was launched via singles "Tamalou" and "Villégiature," with only the former achieving commercial success.

The album Quelqu'un qui s'en va was released in 1981 and featured an album cover photograph by Serge Gainsbourg.

On May 2, 1988, Décalages were first published. It was a commercial hit and was awarded gold for selling a hundred thousand copies, despite Hardy's last album.

Julien Clerc's "Fais-moi une place" was written in 1990, which was included in his album of the same name.

Hardy resumed her music career in the 1990s after signing a deal with Virgin Records in December 1994.

In 1995, Hardy coproduced with English band Blur in the French version of "To the End," which was recorded at Abbey Road Studios. It was included as a B-side to the company's single "Country House" on its single "Country House" on B-side.

Hardy collaborated with French duo Air on the track "Jeanne," which was included as a B-side to their maxi album "Sexy Boy" in 1997.

The Grand Prix des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique rewarded her album Clair-obscurity in 2000.

Hardy was named Female Artist of the Year for her album Tant de belles choses at the Victoires de la Musique in 2005.

In 2006, Hardy received the Grande médaille de la chanson française award from the Académie Française in honor of her music career.

Hardy's 50th anniversary in music was commemorated in 2012 with the unveiling of her first book and an album titled L'Amour fou. Diagnosed with laryngeal cancer, the singer declared it to be her last album, but Personne d'autre, a 2018 compilation, has been reissued almost five years later.

Hardy declared in March 2021 that she could no longer sing as a result of cancer treatments.

Acting career

Though journalists often take note of Hardy's film roles, she never set out to pursue a career as an actress nor did not intend to do so. Despite being reluctant, she accepted several acting roles in the 1960s on Jean-Marie Périer's recommendation. "I couldn't see how I could refuse well-known film producers' offers," the singer explained. Nonetheless, I prefer music to movies. Music and chanson are allowing you to explore yourself and how you feel, while cinema is about playing a character that may be miles away from who you are." Hardy made her film debut in 1963, appearing Ophelia in Roger Vadim's Château en Suède. Vadim put Hardy's potential as an actor by directing her in a reading of Cécile de Roggendorf's love letters to Giacomo Casanova for radio Europe n° 1. During the making of Château en Suède, she mocked her for her "infinite apathy," and the film's shooting marked the "beginning of her dread for filming sessions and general movie business." Hardy attended the Cannes Film Festival, where she wore a black coat by Pierre Cardin.

Hardy was cast in Jean-Daniel Pollet's 1966 film Une balle au cér, which was shot on location in a remote Greek island, after a cameo in What's New Pussycat? "I felt like I was at the other end of the world, and my morale plunged below zero." After a day or two, she realized that the producer was hopelessly bad and his film was a disaster." Hardy continued to appear in musicarelli films, including "I ragazzi dell'Hully Gully (1964), Questo pazzo (1965), and Europa canta (1965). She appeared on Monte Carlo's C'est La Rose, hosted by Grace Kelly in 1968.

In the mid-1960s, American director John Frankenheimer noticed Hardy while leaving a London club and thinking she'd be excellent as one of the characters in Grand Prix, a film he was researching about Formula One auto racing. Despite being disinterested in an acting career, Hardy agreed because the film's big-budget production gave her a substantial remuneration. In Jean-Luc Godard's 1966 film Masculin féminin, the singer made a notable appearance in his famous white boots. She appeared in the television film L'homme du Cher with Eddy Mitchell in 1969. She appeared in Jean-Claude Lord's Les Colombes (1972) and Claude Lelouch's Si c'était à refaire (1976).

Astrological career

Hardy has worked as an astrologer, in addition to writing extensively on the subject. She aligns herself with Jean-Pierre Nicola's 1964 book La condition solaire, which puts forward a non-divinatory character of the discipline but emphasizes that it should be used considering other variables such as hereditary, educational, and socioeconomic determinants. Hardy has written about her skepticism of most astronomers and of "predictive astrology."

After consulting astrologer André Barbault in the mid-1960s, Hardy first became interested in the field. Catherine Aubier, who recommended her professor to Hardy, took public courses, learned to create a birth chart, and read many specialized books before meeting Catherine Aubier, who recommended her professor to Hardy. Madame Godefroy in Paris continued to teach traditional astrology for two years. After meeting Nicola in late 1974, who urged her to be a part of a new magazine he was constructing, she became more dedicated to astrology. "He [he] initiated me into a deep knowledge of astrology and prepared me to use it properly by his side," the singer wrote. Hardy was introduced by Alejandro Jodorowsky to the Tarot of Marseilles, which was beyond astrology. She took courses with graphologist Germaine Tripier, the dean of the French Society of Graphology, as a complement to her astrological study.

Hardy was asked by Nicola to collaborate on a series of zodiac signs by Tchou Editions, being tasked with writing the book dedicated to Virgo. Since she had no time to write the book by herself, she shared her findings with fellow astronomer Béatrice Guénin. She has also worked with magazine Quinze Ans. Hardy was approached by Pierre Lescure of RMC radio station in late 1980 to entrust her with both the daily horoscope and a weekly show, and she begged Nicola to assist her financially. Hardy launched Entre les lignes, entre les signes, a weekly television broadcast in 1982, in which she interviewed a film or music celebrity using their birth chart, graphologist Anne-Marie Simmond, whose courses she had taken as well, created their psychological portrait by using their handwriting. The pair also wrote a book under the same name that compiled the interviews and profiles of the show's guests, which was first published by RMC in 1986.

Hardy continued her astrological work in 1990 by writing articles in Swiss newspaper Le Matin and organising a weekly section in Thierry Ardisson's program Télé Zèbre on Antenne 2. Hardy published Les rythmes du zodiaque, a book she described as "a book that would inspire me to make my little contribution to modern astrology" on May 7, 2003. The book's production was a lengthy and difficult process that took Hardy over two years to write.

Writing career

Hardy has worked as an author of both fiction and non-fiction, in addition to writing about astrology. Le désespoir des singes, a biography by Margaret Deschanel, was published on October 9, 2008, and it became a best-selling book in France, with 250,000 copies. Ex Sebastián-based independent publisher Exodus Polares translated and published the book in Spanish in 2017. Feral House's The Despair of Monkeys and Other Trifles was released in 2018 in English, and translator Jon E. Graham translated it.

Hardy wrote her first book L'amour fou on Éditions Albin Michel in 2012, which was released in conjunction with a musical album of the same name. Hardy began writing about its story, which revolves around an obsessive romantic relationship, thirty years before its publication. Hardy had shelved the text and had no intention of releasing it, but her editor had been advised to do so and agreed after her friend Jean-Marie Périer's encouragement. The singer felt it was appropriate to publish the book on the anniversary of her fifty years of music, as it was "the story that has been the backbone of virtually all of my songs from the start." Edizioni Clichy, a Florence-based writer, published the Italian-language version of the novel in 2013.

Hardy decided to step away from music and devote herself to writing after poor sales of albums La pluie sans mousse and L'Amour fou. This resulted in the essay Avis non autorisés, which appeared in Éditions des Équateurs in 2015, in which she discusses the challenges of reaching her old age. Hardy's book also discusses her current affairs, which have been described as "politically incorrect." Avis non licensed was a commercial success. A year later, she published Un cadeau du ciel, a book in which she talks about her hospitalization for cancer in March 2015, which almost died. After being unable to perform in the early 2020s, Hardy committed herself to the making of Chansons sur toi et nous, which compiles all of her songs and includes commentary on them.

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