French cinema icon Brigitte Bardot, one of the defining faces of the industry’s golden age, has passed away at the age of 91. She died on Sunday at her home in Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera, according to AFP and British daily The Guardian. Rising to global prominence in the 1950s and 1960s, Bardot captivated audiences with her bold screen presence and unconventional acting style, playing a crucial role in introducing French cinema to international audiences. After retiring from films in 1973 at the height of her career, she devoted her life to animal rights activism and later founded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which has since campaigned worldwide against animal cruelty. Her post-cinematic life, however, was also marked by controversy, as her outspoken far-right political views and inflammatory remarks led to multiple convictions for hate speech. Born on September 28, 1934, in Paris to a well-off Catholic family, Bardot trained in ballet at the Conservatoire de Paris before gaining early public attention through modelling, which eventually led her to cinema. Her breakthrough came with the 1956 film And God Created Woman, which turned her into an international sensation, and she went on to appear in nearly 50 films before stepping away from the spotlight. Beyond cinema, Bardot became a cultural muse of her time, influencing thinkers such as Simone de Beauvoir and artists including John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and in 1969 she was chosen as the first living model for Marianne, the emblem of the French Republic. In her later years, she lived largely in seclusion at her famed home La Madrague in Saint-Tropez and was briefly hospitalised in October before returning home. Her death prompted an outpouring of tributes across France, with President Emmanuel Macron describing her as a legendary figure of the 20th century. Bardot, who was married four times and had one son, Nicolas, born in 1960, leaves behind a legacy that is both influential and deeply polarising—an enduring icon who reshaped cinema while stirring debate through her activism and political views.
