French cinema icon Brigitte Bardot, whose image helped redefine screen stardom in the post-war era before she reinvented herself as a high-profile animal rights campaigner, has died at the age of 91.
Bardot died at her home in southern France, according to the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which confirmed her death to the Associated Press. No cause was disclosed. She had been hospitalised last month.
Rising to global fame with ‘And God Created Woman’ in 1956, Bardot became a symbol of sexual liberation at a time when European cinema was breaking away from convention. Directed by her then husband Roger Vadim, the film caused controversy and fascination in equal measure, turning the young actor into an international sensation almost overnight.
With her blond hair, barefoot confidence and unapologetic sensuality, Bardot came to embody a changing France. She starred in nearly 30 films during a whirlwind career that included titles such as The Truth, Contempt and Shalako. In 1969, her cultural impact was cemented when her likeness was chosen for Marianne, the emblem of the French Republic.
Despite her fame, Bardot often spoke of discomfort with the film industry and the relentless scrutiny of her private life. She retired from acting in 1973 at the age of 39, withdrawing from cinema at the height of her popularity.
In the decades that followed, Bardot devoted herself to animal welfare, selling personal possessions to fund what would become the Brigitte Bardot Foundation. Her activism took her from campaigns against seal hunting to protests over animal testing and meat consumption, earning her both admiration and official honours, including France’s Legion of Honour.
However, her later years were marked by controversy. Bardot’s outspoken and far-right extremist political views, particularly her repeated criticism of immigration and Eid-al-Adha for animal slaughter practices, led to multiple convictions in French courts for inciting racial hatred. Her public support for far-right figures further alienated many former admirers.
Born in Paris in 1934 into a wealthy family, Bardot trained as a ballet dancer before being discovered as a teenager. Her personal life, including four marriages and a strained relationship with her only son, was often played out under intense media attention, something she later said left lasting emotional scars.
Brigitte Bardot leaves behind a complicated legacy, celebrated as a trailblazer who reshaped female stardom and condemned by critics for her political extremism. Few figures in modern French culture, however, have left such an enduring and divisive mark.
