Brigitte Bardot, the French actress who set the standard for a generation of female sex symbols in the 1960s and dedicated her later life to animal rights advocacy, has passed away. She was 91 years old.
News of her death was shared on Sunday in a statement from her foundation, noting that Bardot chose to renounce “her prestigious film profession to devote her life and energy” to safeguarding animal welfare. Particulars regarding her passing were not revealed.
An archetype of beauty for millions of men, Bardot ushered in an era of lush, pouty lips and carefree actresses with her portrayal of a self-assured young woman in “And God Created Woman” (1956). During the 1970s, she served as the model for “Marianne”—the female embodiment of the French Republic, whose profile graces stamps and coinage.
However, Bardot retired from filmmaking at age 39 and sparked controversy with remarks concerning marginalized segments of society.
A Paris court fined her €5,000 (about $6,100 at the time) in 2004 for expressing “disgust” with France’s tolerance for Muslim immigrants in her 2003 memoir, “Tears of Silence.” The book also labeled homosexuals as “freaks” and suggested unemployed people were unwilling to work.
In an interview with Paris Match in 2018, she criticized the #MeToo movement against power-abusing men, asserting that many actresses claiming sexual harassment willingly traded their bodies for career advancement. Unlike Catherine Deneuve, who also contested the movement, Bardot did not backtrack or offer an apology.
Her life was as turbulent as the roles she played. She was married four times and once remarked, “It’s better to be unfaithful than to be faithful and not wish to be faithful.”
Playboy magazine ranked her fourth on its 1999 list of the 100 sexiest stars of the 20th century, trailing only Raquel Welch, Jayne Mansfield, and the top-ranked Marilyn Monroe.
In 1986, she established a Paris-based foundation that supports animal shelters, sterilizes stray cats and dogs, and funds projects including a veterinary facility for horses in Tunisia and a leper farm in India. The organization also campaigned for curbs on bullfighting, whale hunting, and the wearing of fur.
“I gave my youth and beauty to men,” she shared in a 1999 interview. “Now I give my knowledge and experience to animals.”
Model at 13
Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot was born on September 28, 1934, in Paris and was already involved in dance and modeling by the age of 13. At 15, she graced the cover of Elle magazine, and at 18, she made her debut film appearance.
The release of “And God Created Woman” cemented Bardot as an international star, and Saint-Tropez as a major resort destination. While the film—about a woman torn between two brothers—would contain nothing considered nudity today, scenes where Bardot undressed and danced barefoot to African music shocked audiences in France and America. At the time, Bardot was wed to the film’s director, Roger Vadim.
Bardot went on to collaborate with some of the foremost French directors of her era, including Henri-Georges Clouzot in “A Truth” (1960), Louis Malle in “A Very Private Affair” (1962), and Jean-Luc Godard in “Contempt” (1963). Her final motion picture role was in 1973. During the 1960s and 1970s, she also released French pop songs, featuring notable collaborations with the late singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg.
Bardot wished to wed Vadim at 16, but her parents insisted she wait until she was 18. They remained together for five years before their divorce. He later married actress Jane Fonda.
Bardot’s second husband was actor Jacques Charrier, whom she wed in 1959 after they met on the set of “Babette Goes to War.” They separated three years later, during which time their only child, Nicolas-Jacques, was born. Her 1966 marriage to Gunter Sachs, a German photographer and art collector, lasted three years. According to his family, Sachs ended his life in 2011, seeking relief from an incurable degenerative ailment.
Her 1992 union with Bernard d’Ormale, a member of the anti-immigration National Rally party, linked her to the far-right in France.
Bardot reportedly expressed during interviews a desire to be interred at her villa in Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera. In 2018, she told Paris Match that between her villa and a nearby farm, she housed around 50 dogs, cats, donkeys, pigs, sheep, goats, geese, and turtles.
“Brigitte Bardot embodied a life of liberty,” French President Emmanuel Macron stated in a post on X. “She touched us. We mourn a legend of the century.”
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