Who is Thomas Dutronc? Françoise Hardy's son announces her death with photo of himself as a baby being held by late pop singer

On June 11, 2024, French singer Thomas Dutronc announced via social media that his mother Françoise Hardy, a popular musician and actress who became an international icon in the 1960s, had died at 80. Dutronc took to Instagram to post a picture of Hardy holding him as a baby, and translated to English, he wrote:

“Mom is gone"

Françoise Hardy battled lymphatic cancer since 2004 and was also diagnosed with laryngeal cancer. The legendary singer underwent numerous rounds of chemotherapy and was also an advocate for euthanasia.

Thomas Dutronc is the only child of his musical parents Françoise Hardy and Jacques Dutronc. He rose to fame in the late 2000s with his distinctive music style that incorporated elements of Gypsy jazz, indie rock, chanson, and pop.

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Thomas Dutronc primarily experimented with Gypsy jazz in his music

Born in 1973, Thomas Dutronc inherited his parents' musical genes, as he began writing songs and learning Gypsy guitar at 18. He also worked alongside his father on the latter's 1995 track Brèves rencontres.

According to All Music, Thomas Dutronc has worked with artists including Bireli Lagrene, Les Rita Mitsouko, M (Matthieu Chedid), and Henri Salvador. In 2007, he signed his contract with Universal Music and released his debut album Comme Un Manouche Sans Guitare.

The album gained critical acclaim, reaching No. 5 on the French charts. Thomas Dutronc won a Globes de Cristal Award as Best Male Singer of the Year in 2008 and was awarded the Victoires de la Musique award for Original Song of the Year for the album's title track in 2009.

Thomas Dutronc released his second studio album, Silence on Tourne, On Tourne en Rond, in 2011, in which he merged elements of Gypsy jazz and indie rock. He released two more solo albums, Éternels Jusqu'à Demain in 2015 and Frenchy in 2020, and a concert album, Live Is Love, in 2018.

Frenchy was an ode to French songs, the musician's dream project featuring collaborations with other artists like Diana Krall, Iggy Pop, Billy Gibbons, Jeff Goldblum, and Haley Reinhart.

In 2022, he teamed up with his father to release a collaborative album titled Dutronc & Dutronc, featuring reworked songs from both their discographies.

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Françoise Hardy was part of Rolling Stone's list of top 200 greatest singers of all time in 2023

Françoise Hardy became the only French singer to earn a spot on Rolling Stone's prestigious list of the top 200 greatest singers of all time, taking the 162nd spot in 2023.

The iconic singer, who made waves in the yé-yé genre, released over 30 studio albums over her five-decade-long career in the music industry. She released her first French hit song Tous les Garcons et les Filles in 1962 at the age of 18. Her English hit came in 1968 with the release of It Hurts to Say Goodbye.

Françoise Hardy also dabbled in acting, appearing in John Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix in 1966. However, in a 2018 interview with the New York Times, Hardy emphasized that she preferred music to acting, adding:

“I was very naïve and a well-brought up young woman. I couldn’t see how I could turn down offers by well-known film directors. However, I far preferred music to cinema. Music and chanson allow you to go deep into yourself and how you feel, while cinema is about playing a part, playing a character who might be miles away from who you are.”

Françoise Hardy also modeled for various fashion houses including Yves Saint Laurent and Paco Rabanne. The singer returned to the spotlight with her final album, Personne d’Autre in 2018.