Brigitte Bardot, French screen icon, passes away at 91
Brigitte Bardot, the French actress and singer who rose to fame as a global sex symbol before stepping away from the cinema to champion animal rights and embrace far-right politics, has passed away at the age of 91. Among those honoring her on Sunday was the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who expressed on social media that France was grieving “a legend of the century.” “Her films, her voice, her dazzling glory … her sorrows, her generous passion for animals, her face that became Marianne, Brigitte Bardot embodied a life of freedom,” Macron stated. Bardot’s demise at her residence, La Madrague, in Saint-Tropez, on the French Riviera, was communicated by her foundation. “The Brigitte Bardot Foundation announces with profound sadness the passing of its founder and president, Madame Brigitte Bardot, a globally recognized actress and singer, who made the decision to relinquish her prestigious career to devote her time and energy to animal welfare and her foundation,” it remarked. The exact cause of her death has not been disclosed. In October, Bardot experienced a brief hospitalization for what her office described as a “minor” procedure. She had expressed a desire to avoid the presence of “a crowd of idiots” at her funeral and wished for a simple wooden cross to be placed above her grave in her garden – similar to those for her animals. French icon Brigitte Bardot dies aged 91 – video report The municipality in Saint-Tropez, where Bardot vacationed as a child and later filmed And God Created Woman, remarked that the actress had “helped make Saint-Tropez shine across the globe.” The town lauded Bardot as its “most radiant ambassador” and part of “the collective memory of Saint-Tropez, which we must cherish.” Bardot gained international prominence in 1956 with And God Created Woman, written and directed by her then-husband, Roger Vadim, and for the subsequent twenty years, she was deemed the embodiment of the archetypal “sex kitten.” However, in the early 1970s, she announced her retirement from acting and emerged as a forthright advocate for animal rights, becoming increasingly politically active on the far right. Jordan Bardella, the president of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party (RN), which Bardot supported, remarked: “Brigitte Bardot was a woman of heart, conviction and character. An ardent patriot, devoted to animals whom she protected throughout her life, she represented an entire French era, but above all a certain notion of courage and freedom.” Brigitte Bardot in 2007. Photograph: Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images Le Pen, whom Bardot once referred to as “the Joan of Arc of the 21st century,” remarked on social media that Bardot was “exceptional for her talent, courage, frankness and beauty.” “She was incredibly French,” she noted. “Free, indomitable, whole. Her absence will be profoundly felt.” Bardot’s position in the far-right’s cultural sphere led to tributes from Italy’s government, where the deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini, described her as “a timeless star, but above all a woman who was free, nonconformist, protagonist of courageous battles in defence of our traditions.” Brigitte Bardot in 1958. Photograph: Cinetext Bildarchiv/Allstar Italy’s culture minister, Alessandro Giuli, stated: “Brigitte Bardot was not just one of the great figures of world cinema, but also an extraordinary interpreter of western fundamental freedoms.” He emphasized that she “steadfastly defended her vision of cultural and social values and civic involvement.” Bardot’s inflammatory remarks regarding ethnic minorities, immigration, Islam, and homosexuality resulted in multiple convictions for inciting racial hatred. French courts imposed fines on her six times between 1997 and 2008 for her remarks, especially those aimed at France’s Muslim community. In one instance, a Paris court levied a fine of €15,000 (£13,000) for her statement regarding Muslims as “this population that is destroying us, destroying our country by imposing its acts.” Born in 1934 in Paris, Bardot was raised in a well-to-do, conventional Catholic family but excelled sufficiently as a dancer to gain admission to the esteemed Conservatoire de Paris for ballet study. Concurrently, she found work as a model, gracing the cover of Elle in 1950 at just 15. Her modeling work led to film roles; at one audition, she met Vadim, whom she married in 1952 after turning 18. Bardot began in smaller roles, gaining prominence, and played Dirk Bogarde’s love interest in Doctor at Sea, which was a significant hit in the UK in 1955. However, it was Vadim’s And God Created Woman, in which Bardot portrayed an uninhibited teenager in Saint-Tropez, that solidified her image and transformed her into an international sensation. The film was immensely popular in France as well as abroad, elevating Bardot into the forefront of French film stars. To cinema audiences, Bardot quickly became a muse for intellectuals and artists; not least young John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who urged their then girlfriends to dye their hair blonde in her likeness. Columnist Raymond Cartier published an extensive piece about “le cas Bardot” in Paris-Match in 1958, and Simone de Beauvoir released her renowned essay Brigitte Bardot and the Lolita Syndrome in 1959, positioning the actress as France’s most liberated woman. In 1969, Bardot was selected as the first real-life model for Marianne, the emblem of the French republic. Brigitte Bardot in The Bride is Much Too Beautiful from 1956. Photograph: Archive Photos/Getty Images In the early 1960s, Bardot starred in a series of high-profile French films, including Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Oscar-nominated drama The Truth, Louis Malle’s Very Private Affair (with Marcello Mastroianni), and Jean-Luc Godard’s Contempt. In the latter half of the decade, Bardot accepted several Hollywood offers, including Viva Maria!, a period comedy set in Mexico with Jeanne Moreau, and Shalako, a western featuring Sean Connery. Brigitte Bardot in Doctor At Sea from 1955. Photograph: John Springer Collection/Corbis/Getty Images Bardot also pursued a parallel career in music, which included recording the original rendition of Serge Gainsbourg’s Je T’Aime … Moi Non Plus, which Gainsbourg had penned for her during their extramarital affair. (Worried about scandal after her then husband, Gunter Sachs, discovered the relationship, Bardot asked Gainsbourg not to release it. He later re-recorded it with Jane Birkin, achieving massive commercial success.) Bardot eventually found the pressures of stardom increasingly bothersome, telling the Guardian in 1996: “The madness that surrounded me always felt unreal. I was never truly prepared for the life of a star.” She retired from acting in 1973 at the age of 39, after completing the historical romance The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot. Her main focus shifted to animal welfare activism, participating in protests against seal hunts in 1977 and founding the Brigitte Bardot Foundation in 1986. Bardot later sent letters of protest to world leaders regarding issues like dog extermination in Romania, dolphin hunting in the Faroe Islands, and cat culling in Australia. She also openly shared strong opinions on religious animal slaughter. In her 2003 publication A Cry in the Silence, she expressed right-wing political sentiments and criticized gay men and lesbians, educators, and the so-called “Islamisation of French society,” resulting in a conviction for inciting racial hatred. Brigitte Bardot in 1958. Photograph: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive Bardot underwent four marriages: to Vadim from 1952 to 1957; Jacques Charrier from 1959 to 1962, with whom she had a son, Nicolas, in 1960; Sachs from 1966-69; and to the former Le Pen adviser Bernard d’Ormale, whom she wed in 1992. She also had several high-profile relationships, including those with Jean-Louis Trintignant and Gainsbourg. Bardot outside court in Edinburgh in 1998 celebrating a reprieve for Woofie the dog, who was facing euthanasia for chasing a postal worker. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian
Published: 2025-12-28 17:39:00
source: www.theguardian.com
