Brigitte Bardot, the French actress who became a global sex symbol in the 1950s before dedicating her life to animal rights activism, has died at age 91. The Brigitte Bardot Foundation announced her passing on Sunday.
The foundation confirmed her death in a statement to Agence France-Presse. Bardot died at her home in southern France, ending a life that spanned both cinematic stardom and controversial activism.
Bardot rose to international fame with her 1956 film "And God Created Woman," directed by her then-husband Roger Vadim. The movie's bold depiction of female sexuality challenged conservative post-war norms and established her as France's "most ogled export."
She starred in more than 40 films during her career, including Jean-Luc Godard's "Contempt" in 1963. Known simply as "BB," her tousled blonde hair, winged eyeliner, and carefree persona made her a style icon whose influence continues today.
From Screen to Activism
Bardot shocked fans by retiring from acting in 1973 at age 39. "I gave my youth and my beauty to men," she said at the time. "I am going to give my wisdom and experience to animals."
She established the Brigitte Bardot Foundation in 1986, funding it partly by auctioning personal belongings and jewelry. The organization campaigned against seal hunting, animal testing, and fur farming.
In an interview with The Associated Press on her 73rd birthday in 2007, Bardot reflected on her priorities: "Man is an insatiable predator. I don't care about my past glory. That means nothing in the face of an animal that suffers, since it has no power, no words to defend itself."
Controversial Later Years
Legal controversies marked Bardot's later life. Courts convicted her multiple times for inciting racial hatred, including in 2004 for comments in her book "A Cry In The Silence" and in 2008 for a letter to then-interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy.
She openly supported France's far-right National Front party and made statements critics labeled as racist toward ethnic minorities and French Muslims. Her comments on the #MeToo movement also drew criticism, when she told French magazine Paris Match: "There are many actresses who flirt with producers in order to get a role. Then, in order to be talked about, they will say they have been harassed."
Tributes Pour In
French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute on X: "Her films, her voice, her dazzling glory, her initials, her sorrows, her generous passion for animals, her face that became Marianne, Brigitte Bardot embodied a life of freedom. A French existence, universal brilliance. She touched us. We mourn a legend of the century."
The Brigitte Bardot Foundation honored its founder in its statement: "The Brigitte Bardot Foundation announces with immense sadness the death of its founder and president, Madame Brigitte Bardot, a world-renowned actress and singer, who chose to abandon her prestigious career to dedicate her life and energy to the defense of animals and her foundation."
The foundation pledged to continue her work "with the same passion and unwavering commitment to her ideals."
Born in Paris in 1934, Bardot began as a ballet dancer before appearing on the cover of Elle magazine at age 15. Her face became so iconic that she was chosen as the model for Marianne, the national symbol of France, in 1969.
Note: Artificial Intelligence (AI) created this article.
