The French film icon Brigitte Bardot died at the age of 91. This was reported by several news agencies and French media, citing their foundation. “The Brigitte Bardot Foundation announces with unspeakable sadness the death of its founder and president, Madame Brigitte Bardot,” the newspaper quoted Le Figaro and the AFP news agency from the statement.
Bardot was a “world-recognized actress and singer who chose to give up her illustrious career to dedicate her life and energy to the defense of animals and her foundation.”
Rumors of illness since the beginning of December
The foundation did not comment on the exact time or circumstances of Bardot’s death. It was only at the beginning of December that the foundation spoke of “false information” after media reports about Bardot’s poor health and called on the public to “calm down”, citing Bardot. Bardot previously underwent surgery in October that her office described as minor.
Bardot was born in Paris in 1934 into an upper-middle class family. She later described herself as a shy child. At the age of 15 she was already on the cover of the magazine as a model Elle to see. Only later did she begin her career as an actress and chanson singer.
With more than 50 films, she became a global star from the 1950s onwards and was considered an international style icon. Among her most famous films were: The truth, The contempt and Viva Maria!. Bardot worked with directors such as Jean-Luc Godard and Louis Malle, among others.
Commitment to animal protection and statements critical of migration
At the beginning of the 1970s, Bardot gave up her acting career completely and from then on dedicated her life to endangered animals of all kinds. To this end, she founded her foundation, for which she auctioned off parts of her assets, and set up several animal shelters. She described her affection for animals as, among other things, the result of her disappointment in relationships with people and in the film industry.
In the past few decades, Bardot had largely withdrawn from the public eye. Next to hers Commitment to animal welfare She expressed political views from the far-right spectrum several times. She spoke of Muslim immigrants “over-invading” France and was accused several times of inciting racially motivated hatred.
Between 1997 and 2008, courts fined them six times for anti-Muslim statements. At times she supported Jean-Marie Le Pen’s right-wing extremist Front National, the predecessor party of his daughter Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National. This was described by Bardot as the “Joan of Arc of the 21st century”.
French President Emmanuel Macron, among others, reacted to the news of her death. “Brigitte Bardot embodied a life of freedom,” he wrote on X. “A French existence, a universal charisma.” France mourns “a legend of the century”.
