Irish singer, guitarist, songwriter and actor. Born 21 April 1970 in Dublin, Ireland. Died 29 July 2026 in Dublin, Ireland.

Hansard quit school at age 13 to begin busking on Dublin streets. He first came to popular attention as the guitar player Outspan Foster in the Alan Parker film The Commitments.

Hansard was best known in his native Ireland as the front man of The Frames, but outside of Ireland for his leading role in the award-winning film Once. The film was directed by his former Frames band-mate John Carney (2) and co-starred Hansard's real-life musical collaborator Marketa Irglova whom he had originally met when he was on tour in her home town in the Czech Republic. They recorded and performed-together as The Swell Season.

The soundtrack to Once featured songs from Hansard's writing back catalogue, including new arrangements of songs previously recorded with The Frames. More famously it included compositions co-written by Marketa Irglova, one of which, Falling Slowly, was nominated for the 2007 Grammy for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture and won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Original Song. He died on 29 July 2026 following a motorcycle crash in his native Dublin.