Brigitte Bardot, French Screen Icon and Controversial Activist, Dies at 91
Brigitte Bardot, the French actress who captivated the world with her beauty and rebellious spirit before becoming a divisive figure through her animal rights activism and far-right political views, has died at the age of 91. She passed away on Thursday at her home in southern France, according to Bruno Jacquelin, of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the protection of animals. No cause of death was given, and no funeral or memorial arrangements have been announced. She had been hospitalized last month.
Bardot burst onto the international stage as a provocative young star in Roger Vadim’s 1956 film, “And God Created Woman.” The movie, directed by her then-husband, sparked scandal with its scenes of Bardot, a long-legged beauty, dancing naked on tables. It instantly cemented her status as a symbol of sexual liberation and a burgeoning new era of French cinema.
At the peak of a prolific film career spanning over two dozen movies and three marriages, Bardot embodied a France shedding its conservative past. Her tousled blonde hair, voluptuous figure, and defiant attitude made her one of the nation’s most recognizable faces, even as she privately battled depression. In 1969, her likeness was even chosen as the model for “Marianne,” the national emblem of France, appearing on statues, postage stamps, and coins – a testament to her cultural impact. “We are mourning a legend,” French President Emmanuel Macron stated in a post on X.
However, Bardot’s story took a dramatic turn after she retired from acting in 1973. She reinvented herself as a passionate and often confrontational animal rights activist. She traveled to the Arctic to protest the slaughter of baby seals, condemned animal experimentation, and vehemently opposed Muslim slaughter rituals. “Man is an insatiable predator,” Bardot told The Associated Press in 2007, on her 73rd birthday. “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.” Her dedication to animal welfare earned her the Legion of Honor, France’s highest distinction, in 1985.
But Bardot’s activism increasingly veered into extremism, leading to a significant fall from public grace. She frequently expressed anti-immigrant sentiments, particularly targeting Muslims, and was convicted and fined five times by French courts for inciting racial hatred. These convictions stemmed from her outspoken opposition to the Muslim practice of sheep slaughter during religious holidays.
Her political alignment further solidified in 1992 with her marriage to Bernard d’Ormale, a former advisor to Jean-Marie Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Front. Bardot openly praised Le Pen, a convicted nationalist with a history of racism, describing him as a “lovely, intelligent man.” In 2012, she publicly supported Marine Le Pen’s presidential campaign, and Marine Le Pen paid tribute on Sunday to an “exceptional woman” who was “incredibly French.”
Even during the #MeToo movement in 2018, Bardot stirred controversy, suggesting that many actresses protesting sexual harassment were “hypocritical,” claiming they had previously used their sexuality to advance their careers. She stated she had never been a victim of harassment and found it “charming to be told that I was beautiful or that I had a nice little ass.”
Born Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot on September 28, 1934, to a wealthy industrialist, her early life was marked by shyness. Discovered at age 14 by a family friend, she graced the cover of Elle magazine, launching her career. She described her childhood as “difficult,” alleging that her father was a strict disciplinarian who sometimes resorted to physical punishment.
Vadim recognized her potential and crafted “And God Created Woman” to showcase her provocative sensuality – a potent blend of innocence and raw sexuality. The film profoundly influenced the French New Wave directors Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut, and became synonymous with the hedonism and sexual freedom of the 1960s. While a box-office success, Bardot later admitted, “It’s an embarrassment to have acted so badly,” and confessed to feeling exploited early in her career.
Her highly publicized affair with co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant blurred the lines between her public and private life, making her a constant target for paparazzi. The relentless media intrusion contributed to a suicide attempt ten months after the birth of her only child, Nicolas. Photographers had even broken into her home weeks before her delivery to capture a photograph of her pregnant. Bardot ultimately relinquished custody of Nicolas to his father, Jacques Charrier, another actor she married in 1959, admitting she felt unprepared for motherhood and chronically depressed. She later described her pregnancy in her 1996 autobiography, “Initiales B.B.,” as “a tumour growing inside me” and Charrier as “temperamental and abusive.”
Subsequent marriages to West German millionaire Gunther Sachs (1966-1969) and Bernard d’Ormale (1992-present) followed. Throughout her career, Bardot appeared in films such as “A Parisian” (1957), “In Case of Misfortune” (1958), “The Truth” (1960), and “Contempt” (1963), though she often felt that her talent was overshadowed by her image. “It was never a great passion of mine,” she said of filmmaking. “And it can be deadly sometimes. Marilyn (Monroe) perished because of it.”
After retiring to her villa in St. Tropez in 1973, Bardot dedicated her life to animal welfare, abandoning her glamorous lifestyle and selling her possessions to fund her foundation. She continued to be a vocal advocate, urging South Korea to ban the sale of dog meat and even writing to U.S. President Bill Clinton about the Navy’s recapture of released dolphins. Despite facing criticism and legal repercussions for her controversial views, she remained unwavering in her convictions.
Environmental campaigner Paul Watson, who protested alongside Bardot in Canada in 1977 and collaborated with her for decades, acknowledged the disagreements surrounding her politics. “Her allegiance was not to the world of humans,” he said. “The animals of this world lost a wonderful friend today.” Bardot herself once stated, “I can understand hunted animals, because of the way I was treated. What happened to me was inhuman. I was constantly surrounded by the world press.”
Her legacy remains complex and contested – a captivating icon, a passionate activist, and a controversial figure who challenged societal norms until the very end.
