Brigitte Bardot, the ‘Face of France’ and Global Cinema Legend, Dies at 91

FRANCE : Brigitte Bardot, the quintessential screen siren of the 1950s and 60s who redefined global celebrity before dedicating her life to animal welfare, has died at the age of 91.

The Brigitte Bardot Foundation confirmed that the actress passed away on Sunday at her home in the south of France. While no specific cause of death was released, Bardot had been hospitalized as recently as last month.

Bardot exploded onto the international scene in 1956 with And God Created Woman, directed by her first husband, Roger Vadim. The film’s provocative scenes transformed the then-teenaged Bardot into a global symbol of sexual liberation. During a career that spanned 47 films, she became the face of the French Republic, serving as the model for the “Marianne” statues that grace town halls across France.

French actress Brigitte Bardot poses in character from the motion picture “Voulez-Vous Danser Avec Moi” (Do you Want to Dance With Me), on Sept. 10, 1959.

In 1973, at the height of her fame and aged only 39, Bardot stunned the world by retiring from cinema. She pivoted her focus entirely to animal rights, selling her jewelry and memorabilia to fund the Brigitte Bardot Foundation. From campaigning against the slaughter of baby seals in the Arctic to fighting laboratory testing on animals, Bardot’s activism earned her the Legion of Honour in 1985.

“I don’t care about my past glory,” she famously told the Associated Press in 2007. “That means nothing in the face of an animal that suffers.”

Former Actress And Now Animals Rights Activist Brigitte Bardot Invited For A Meeting On The Environment With French President Nicolas Sarkozy, At The Elysee Palace In Paris, France On September 27, 2007 .

French President Emmanuel Macron led the nation’s tributes, writing on X: “We are mourning a legend.” PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk also paid homage, calling Bardot “an angel for animals” who spent her final decades as a “strong voice for all species.”

Bardot is survived by her fourth husband, Bernard d’Ormale, and her son, Nicolas Charrier.