There are times when we may hear about someone who overcomes incredible odds to lead a life that is nothing short of inspiring. One of those individuals is Connie Francis.

Francis was born in Newark, New Jersey. She was a relatively short individual, but she often wore stiletto heels and was never seen without her makeup and false eyelashes.

Of course, Francis has lived a very long life and in celebrating her 85th birthday, she wanted those who were closest to her to be gathered around her. She also wanted to dress the part.

Perhaps Francis is best known for the release of ‘Who’s Sorry Now.’ Although She Sang a Number of Other Songs in the 1960s, Such As Heartaches by the Number, and Lipstick on Your Collar.

Those songs really made her famous but many people didn’t realize just how difficult she had it in life. This included when she fell in love with Bobby Darin in the 1960s.

She was the top selling female artist in the 1960s and he was the top-selling male artist. She also called him her first and last love.

She spoke about their relationship, saying: “Bobby came to my office one day in 1956 to show me a song.”

She went on to say: “He was writing jingles for a furniture store in New Jersey. He played me this song and I made a couple of changes to it. Let’s just say he wasn’t happy. He said, ‘Me and this lady don’t dance to the same tune. I’m outta here.’ So he took his song and started to leave! But he came back with the changes I made. But it was an instant dislike that turned into love.”

Her Italian father, however, did not approve of the relationship and he even brought a gun to show just how much he wanted the relationship to be nonexistent. It ended the relationship at that point.

She said that her father had a dislike for him, explaining: “He even tried to shoot him. He came with a gun in his pocket. And Bobby had a bad heart.”

She also spoke about his death, saying: “He was an amazing human being. The most interesting human being I’ve ever met in my life. He had a drive that I hadn’t seen in anyone before.”

Darren was only 37 years old when he died in 1973. You probably know some of his songs, such as Dream Lover, Splash Splash, and Mack the Knife.

Francis continued to live under the rule of her father and he wanted her to do what she could with her career. She began acting and starred in a number of popular movies, but she always enjoyed her music more than acting.

She said that she just didn’t feel comfortable, almost as if she didn’t belong there. She was happy when she played her last role. There were times when she was looking for love after Darren, including being tied to Don Rickles and Frank Sinatra for a while.

Over the years, Francis would be married and divorced four different times and would even adopt a child with her third husband.

In 1974, she was staying in a motel room in New York when a man broke in and attacked her. This threw her into a depression, and she became addicted to Darvon and didn’t come out for around seven years.

She also was not able to sing in air-conditioned rooms after nasal surgery in 1977. Three more surgeries left her without a voice for four years.

Sadness happened again shortly after when her younger brother, who used to be a district attorney, was gunned down outside of his home in a mob killing.

She said that her life was full of success as well as a string of tragedies. She spoke about it in her book, Among My Souvenirs.

When Tony Ferretti, her partner of 18 years died in 2022, it through her into an even more difficult time. She spoke with PEOPLE, saying that she just wants to be remembered not so much for her highs but for the depths from which she had come.

Although she was born in New Jersey, she now lives in Florida and would like to be remembered for what is on her tombstone, ‘I hope I did okay.’

Now that she has turned 85, it is just turning another page in a long and successful life.