Brigitte Bardot, the French actor and singer who became a global sensation before reinventing herself as an animal protection campaigner and outspoken supporter of the far right, has died aged 91.
The Brigitte Bardot Foundation announced her death on Sunday, saying “with immense sadness” that its founder and president had died.
In a statement sent to the AFP news agency, the foundation described Bardot as “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 did not give details about when or where she died.
Bardot rose to international fame in 1956 with her role in And God Created Woman, a film that sought to project female sexuality on screen. She went on to appear in about 50 films, becoming one of the most recognisable faces of post-war French cinema.
In the early 1970s, Bardot quit acting at the height of her fame, turning her attention to animal protection. While her campaigning earned admiration from supporters, her public life grew increasingly controversial as she embraced far-right politics and made repeated racist and inflammatory remarks.
Her activism hardened into open support for France’s far-right National Front, now known as National Rally, and the party’s longtime leader Marine Le Pen. Over the years, French courts convicted Bardot multiple times for inciting racial hatred.
In 2022, a court fined her 40,000 euros ($47,000) after she described people from Reunion, a French overseas territory, as “degenerates” who had “kept their savage genes”. It marked the sixth time authorities had sanctioned her for racist and hate speech. Muslims and immigrants were among her frequent targets.
Born in Paris in 1934, Bardot grew up in a conservative Catholic household and trained as a ballet dancer at the Conservatoire de Paris. She began modelling as a teenager, appearing on the cover of Elle at 15, which led to early film roles and her marriage to director Roger Vadim.
Despite later being hailed by some as a trailblazer for women in cinema, Bardot dismissed complaints about sexual harassment in the film industry.
“Many actresses flirt with producers to get a role. Then when they tell the story afterwards, they say they have been harassed. … In actual fact, rather than benefit them, it only harms them,” she said.
“I thought it was nice to be told that I was beautiful or that I had a pretty little a**. This kind of compliment is nice.”