French Cinema Legend Brigitte Bardot Passes Away at the Age of 91

Brigitte Bardot, the French film star, singer and later animal rights campaigner who rose to global fame in the 1950s and became one of the defining cultural icons of her era, has died at the age of 91. The news was confirmed by the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which announced the death of its founder and president in a statement sent to Agence France-Presse on Sunday, without providing details about the place or exact time of her passing.

Bardot became an international phenomenon with the 1956 film And God Created Woman, written and directed by her then husband, Roger Vadim. The role transformed her into a worldwide symbol of sexual freedom and youthful rebellion, and over the next two decades she came to personify the archetype of the “sex kitten.” At the height of her fame, however, she made the unexpected decision to step away from cinema. From the early 1970s onward, she withdrew from acting and devoted herself increasingly to political causes and animal welfare, a shift that later became overshadowed by controversial and inflammatory public statements.

Born in Paris in 1934, Bardot grew up in a well-off, traditional Catholic family. She showed early promise as a dancer and was accepted into the Conservatoire de Paris to study ballet. At the same time, she began working as a fashion model and appeared on the cover of Elle magazine in 1950 at just 15 years old. Her modelling work led directly to film auditions, and it was during one of these that she met Roger Vadim. The two married in 1952, shortly after she turned 18.

Her early film career consisted of small but increasingly visible roles. In 1955, she attracted international attention playing the love interest of Dirk Bogarde in Doctor at Sea, a major success in the United Kingdom. The following year, Vadim’s And God Created Woman secured her place in cinematic history. Playing a provocative and uninhibited young woman in Saint-Tropez, Bardot shocked audiences and critics alike. The film’s commercial success in France and abroad propelled her into the top ranks of French cinema and established her enduring public image.

Beyond the screen, Bardot quickly became a broader cultural reference point. Artists, philosophers and musicians responded to her persona. John Lennon and Paul McCartney famously urged their girlfriends at the time to dye their hair blond in imitation of her. Journalist Raymond Cartier examined her cultural impact in a lengthy 1958 article titled “le cas Bardot” for Paris-Match. In 1959, Simone de Beauvoir published her influential essay Brigitte Bardot and the Lolita Syndrome, portraying Bardot as a symbol of female liberation in post-war France. A decade later, in 1969, Bardot was selected as the first real woman to model Marianne, the emblem of the French Republic.

During the 1960s, Bardot starred in a series of high-profile films that reinforced her status as a leading actress. These included Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Oscar-nominated drama The Truth, Louis Malle’s Very Private Affair alongside Marcello Mastroianni, and Jean-Luc Godard’s Contempt. In the latter part of the decade, she also accepted offers from Hollywood, appearing in productions such as Viva Maria! with Jeanne Moreau and the western Shalako opposite Sean Connery.

Alongside her acting career, Bardot pursued music, recording several songs. One of the most notable was the original version of Serge Gainsbourg’s Je T’Aime … Moi Non Plus, written for her during their extramarital relationship. Concerned about scandal after her then husband, Gunter Sachs, learned of the affair, Bardot asked Gainsbourg not to release the recording. He later re-recorded the song with Jane Birkin, turning it into a global hit.

Despite her success, Bardot increasingly struggled with the pressures of fame. In a 1996 interview with The Guardian, she said that the frenzy surrounding her celebrity life always felt unreal and that she had never been prepared for such exposure. In 1973, at the age of 39, she retired from acting after completing The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot, choosing to redirect her life entirely.

Her post-cinema years were dominated by animal rights activism. She took part in protests against seal hunting in 1977 and founded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation in 1986. Through the foundation, she campaigned internationally, writing to world leaders about issues ranging from dog culls in Romania and dolphin hunting in the Faroe Islands to the killing of cats in Australia. She also spoke out repeatedly against religious animal slaughter practices.

At the same time, Bardot’s public statements became increasingly polarising. In her 2003 book A Cry in the Silence, she expressed strong right-wing views and criticised gay men and lesbians, teachers and what she described as the “Islamisation of French society.” These remarks led to convictions for inciting racial hatred. Her long-standing support for France’s far-right Front National, now known as the National Rally, was equally controversial. She openly endorsed the party’s positions on immigration and, in 2006, wrote to then interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy claiming that France’s Muslim population was undermining the country.

Bardot was married four times: to Roger Vadim from 1952 to 1957, to actor Jacques Charrier from 1959 to 1962, with whom she had her only child, Nicholas, born in 1960, to German businessman Gunter Sachs between 1966 and 1969, and finally to Bernard d’Ormale, a former adviser to Jean-Marie Le Pen, whom she married in 1992. She also had several highly publicised relationships, including with actors Jean-Louis Trintignant and singer Serge Gainsbourg.

Her life traced an extraordinary arc, from international stardom and cultural myth to political controversy and relentless activism, leaving behind a legacy that continues to provoke admiration, debate and division.