The Tamesis
French actress, fashion icon and animal activist Brigitte Bardot has died at the age of 91.
French news agency AFP shared the news, while the Brigitte Bardot Foundation also released a statement. “It is with great sadness that the Brigitte Bardot Foundation announces the death of its founder and president, Dame Brigitte Bardot, a world-famous actress and singer who chose to give up her prestigious career to devote her life and energy to animal welfare and her Foundation,” the statement read.
An early creator of the cult of celebrity, Bardot deftly harnessed the energy of the Swinging Sixties to cast herself as the free-spirited embodiment of a changing world. Bardot (or BB as she was widely known) starred in 47 films, several musicals, recorded an album with Serge Gainsbourg, and became, in de Gaulle’s words, “as important a French export as Renault cars.” In 1973, at the height of her stardom, she gave up movies to devote herself full-time to her cause: animal rights.
Born 1934, black hair (dyed blond for an Italian film in 1965) Mio Figlio Nerone)The daughter of Anne Marie and Louis Bardot, she grew up in an upper-middle-class family in Paris, attending private school three days a week and dancing ballet the other two days. She later studied dance for three years at the Paris Conservatoire under Russian choreographer Boris Knuazey.
15 years old, after appearing on the cover EllerBadut was noticed by up-and-coming film director Roger Vadum, who convinced Marc Allegret to invite her to audition. Les Lauriers Sonte Coupe. Although Bardot did not get the role, it was a pivotal moment: her interest in acting was piqued and she fell in love with Vadum. When her parents forbade the relationship, Bardot attempted suicide four times without success. She struggled with severe depression throughout her life. Eventually, her parents relented but prohibited the two from marrying until she was 18, which they did in 1952.
Although she divorced her co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant four years later after an affair, it was Bardot’s relationship with Vadum that catapulted her to international stardom. For his directorial debut, god created womanWadum cast Bardot as Juliet, a fierce, charming teenage girl trapped in a small town. The film was poorly received by French conservatives, who were particularly offended by scenes in which Bardot danced barefoot and with disheveled hair.
