Her death was announced on Sunday by the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which she founded and led for decades. The statement did not give details of when or where she died.
Tributes quickly poured in from across France. President Emmanuel Macron described Bardot as someone who had “embodied a life of freedom” and said the country was mourning “a legend of the century.” The town of Saint-Tropez, forever linked to her rise to fame, called her its “most radiant ambassador” and said she had helped make the seaside town known around the world.
Bardot rose to international stardom in 1956 with And God Created Woman, the film that transformed her into a global sex symbol. With her blond hair, natural beauty and uninhibited screen presence, she came to represent a new kind of female freedom in postwar France. For many, she was the face of a bold, modern era.
Born in Paris in 1934, Bardot grew up in a strict, traditional Catholic family. She trained as a ballet dancer and studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, but it was modelling that first brought her public attention. At just 15, she appeared on the cover of Elle, leading to early film roles. It was during one of these auditions that she met director Roger Vadim, whom she later married.
Throughout the late 1950s and 1960s, Bardot became one of Europe’s biggest stars. She worked with leading directors including Jean-Luc Godard, Louis Malle and Henri-Georges Clouzot, and appeared alongside actors such as Marcello Mastroianni and Sean Connery. She also inspired artists and thinkers of the time. Philosopher Simone de Beauvoir famously wrote that Bardot represented the most liberated woman in France, while musicians such as John Lennon and Paul McCartney admired her style and image.
Alongside her acting career, Bardot also found success as a singer. One of the most famous episodes of her music life was her relationship with Serge Gainsbourg, who wrote Je T’Aime… Moi Non Plus for her. Although she recorded the original version, it was never released at her request. The song later became a worldwide hit when re-recorded by Gainsbourg with Jane Birkin.
Despite her fame, Bardot increasingly struggled with the pressures of celebrity life. She later said she had never been prepared for the madness that surrounded her. In 1973, at just 39 years old and still at the height of her fame, she shocked the public by announcing her retirement from acting.
From that point on, Bardot devoted herself almost entirely to animal rights. She became a passionate and tireless campaigner, protesting seal hunts, speaking out against animal cruelty worldwide and founding the Brigitte Bardot Foundation in 1986. She wrote to world leaders and used her fame to draw attention to issues ranging from dolphin hunting to the treatment of stray animals.
However, Bardot’s later life was also marked by deep controversy. Her outspoken political views and repeated attacks on immigration, Islam and minority groups led to several convictions for inciting racial hatred. French courts fined her multiple times between the late 1990s and 2000s. She was a long-time supporter of France’s far-right National Rally party, and her comments often shocked and angered the public.
Bardot was married four times and had one son, Nicolas. Her personal life, like her career, was closely followed and widely discussed, adding to her myth and notoriety.
To admirers, Brigitte Bardot will be remembered as a symbol of beauty, freedom and rebellion, as well as a fierce defender of animals. To critics, she remains a deeply divisive figure whose later views overshadowed her artistic legacy. In death, she leaves behind a complex and powerful imprint on French culture—one that continues to spark debate, reflection and fascination.
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