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French film icon Brigitte Bardot has died at age 91, her foundation said on Sunday.
Bardot, a symbol of sexual liberation of the 1950s and sixties who turned her back on cinema to devote herself to protecting animals, was hospitalised in October and, in November, released a statement denying rumours that she had died.
“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 animal welfare and her foundation,” it said in a statement sent to AFP.
Tributes were immediately paid to the star who became known as “BB” in her home country.
Jordan Bardella, the head of Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party, was among the first to pay homage.
“Today the French people have lost the Marianne they so loved, whose beauty astonished the world,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
President Emmanuel Macron called Bardot a “legend” of the 20th century.
Credit: vogue.com
“With her films, her voice, her dazzling glory, her initials (BB), her sorrows, her generous passion for animals, and her face that became Marianne, Brigitte Bardot embodied a life of freedom,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter), referring to the female symbol of the French Republic.
“We mourn a legend of the century.”
Born on September 28, 1934, in Paris, Bardot was raised in a well-off, traditional Catholic household.
Bardot became a global star after appearing in “And God Created Woman” in 1956 and went on to appear in about 50 more movies before giving up acting in 1973.
She turned her back on celebrity to look after abandoned animals, saying she was “sick of being beautiful every day.”
Unlike other beloved French New Wave stars, Bardot was a divisive figure who alienated many fans with her political views.
She was convicted five times for hate speech, mostly about Muslims, but also the inhabitants of the French island of Reunion, whom she described as “savages.”
A supporter of far-right politician Marine Le Pen, Bardot had previously described herself as being opposed to what she called the “Islamisation of France,” a stance she outlined in a 2003 book in which she referenced France’s historical struggles against foreign invaders.
In her final book, Mon BBcedaire (“My BB Alphabet”), published just weeks before her death, she criticised what she portrayed as a “dull, sad, and submissive” France, as well as her hometown of Saint-Tropez, which she said had become overwhelmed by wealthy tourists she once helped draw to the area.
The book also included derogatory comments about gay and transgender people.
She is survived by her only child, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier, from her marriage to actor Jacques Charrier.
On the subject of death, she warned that she wanted to avoid the presence of “a crowd of idiots” at her funeral and wished for a simple wooden cross above her grave, in her garden, the same as for her animals.
