Françoise Hardy

Even if she weren't strikingly beautiful, Françoise Hardy would be an icon for groundbreakers.In the mid 1960s, Hardy perfectly bridged two worlds with her boho sex appeal (straight hair, eyebrow-dusting bangs, acoustic guitar) and pared-down mod aesthetic (chiseled cheekbones, an intense gaze, a Courrèges wardrobe). Her elegant, world-weary ballads like Comment Te Dire Adieu were obligatory listening for the cool cats and the hipsters alike, while her flickering charisma caught the eye of directors from John Frankenheimer (who cast her in Grand Prix) to Jean Luc Godard (who put her in Masculin, Féminin). Decades later, with her recording career still going strong, Hardy is still hitting all the right notes.