Françoise Hardy: A Life in Pictures

French pop star Françoise Hardy, who died on Tuesday at the age of 80, was celebrated for her beauty and style, as she always struck the perfect pose whether she was doing a fashion shoot or being captured in a candid photo. Hardy’s self-possession may be intimidating, but her songs created a sense of intimacy, drew listeners close by exploring emotional depths, and won the love and loyalty of pop fans, loyal aesthetes and lonely souls.

In these images we have collected, notice how she sometimes seems to be looking at us, even though we are looking at her. Also note what it is no There, besides any bad angles: no come-hither poses, no attractive bras, no exposed curves, almost no teeth – Hardy’s smiles were of the closed lips, amused kind, not open-mouthed beams. In a photo taken on a motorboat, she is the only one not wearing a bathing suit as she turns her face toward the sun in what looks like peaceful bliss.

Hardy was not arrogant and enjoyed having fun, and was prone to fits of laughter, as her close friend, the singer Etienne Dahu, recalled in an interview. Brief eulogy — but she led her life and career while remaining true to herself, on her terms: viewing the world with curiosity, artistic precision, a little aloof and a little curmudgeon, and always sentimental.