Brigitte Bardot, the French actress and singer who became an international sex symbol before turning her back on the film industry and dedicating herself to animal rights activism, has died at the age of 91.
Bardot rose to international fame with the 1956 film And God Created Woman, written and directed by her then-husband, Roger Vadim. The film made her an international icon, and for two decades she embodied the image of the free and sensual woman in French and world cinema. However, in the early 1970s, Bardot announced her retirement from acting and became increasingly involved in public and political life.
Born in Paris in 1934, Bardot grew up in a wealthy, traditional Catholic family. Her talent as a ballerina was recognized early, which allowed her to study at the prestigious Paris Conservatory. At the same time, she began working as a model and in 1950, at the age of 15, she appeared on the cover of Elle magazine. It was this experience that opened the door to cinema.
At an audition, she met Roger Vadim, whom she married in 1952, after turning 18. She initially took on small roles, but with increasing importance. In 1955, she played Dirk Bogarde's love interest in the film "Doctor at Sea", a huge success in the United Kingdom.
The role that finally consolidated her image was that of the unbridled teenager in Saint-Tropez in “And God Created Woman.” The film was an enormous success in France and abroad, catapulting Bardot into the forefront of French cinema stars.
Off the screen, Bardot became an inspiration for artists and intellectuals. John Lennon and Paul McCartney asked their girlfriends to dye their hair blonde in imitation of her. In 1958, columnist Raymond Cartier wrote about the “Bardot case” in Paris-Match, while in 1959 Simone de Beauvoir published her famous essay “Brigitte Bardot and the Lolita Syndrome,” describing the actress as France’s most liberated woman. In 1969, Bardot was chosen as the first real-life model for Marianne, the symbol of the French Republic.
During the 1960s, she appeared in a number of notable films, including Henri-Georges Clouzot's Oscar-nominated drama "The Truth," Louis Malle's "Very Private Affair" opposite Marcello Mastroianni, and Jean-Luc Godard's "Contempt." In the second half of the decade, Bardot also accepted offers from Hollywood, including "Viva Maria!" with Jeanne Moreau and the western "Shalako" with Sean Connery.
She also had a parallel musical career, notably recording the original version of Serge Gainsbourg's song "Je t'aime… moi non plus", written especially for her. The song was not released at the time due to fears of scandal, but later became a huge success when re-recorded by Gainsbourg with Jane Birkin.
The pressure of fame, however, became increasingly difficult for her. In an interview with The Guardian in 1996, Bardot stated: "The madness that always surrounded me seemed unreal. I was never really prepared for the life of a star." In 1973, at the age of 39, she finally retired from acting.
From then on, her main focus became animal rights advocacy. She participated in protests against seal hunting in 1977 and founded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation in 1986. Her activism included letters and public appeals to world leaders on issues ranging from the culling of dogs in Romania to the killing of dolphins in the Faroe Islands and the slaughter of cats in Australia.
At the same time, Bardot became a controversial figure due to her political stances. She openly expressed support for the far-right National Front in France and was convicted several times for inciting racial hatred, particularly after the publication of her book "A Silent Cry" in 2003.
Brigitte Bardot was married four times: to Roger Vadim (1952–1957), to Jacques Charrier (1959–1962), with whom she had a son, Nicholas, to Gunter Sachs (1966–1969), and to Bernard d'Ormale in 1992. She also had a number of relationships with well-known public figures.
With her passing, France and the world lose one of the most iconic and controversial figures of 20th-century cinema, a woman who left a deep mark on both art and public debate.
