By Jennifer Asencio
| Published 14 seconds ago
Actress and 1950s sex symbol Brigitte Bardot has died. She was 91.
Bardot was a trend-setter who helped usher in the sexual revolution of the 1950s and 60s by portraying female sensuality. The French actress crossed borders to international stardom with the film And God Created Woman, which was written and directed by one of her many former husbands, Roger Vadim. She was the original “sex kitten.”
In her movies, she often portrayed sexually liberated and independent women. She was so influential that it is said that John Lennon and Paul McCartney both asked their girlfriends to dye their hair blonde after the French starlet’s famous locks, themselves dyed for her appearance in the Italian movie, Nero’s Weekend. The famous feminist Simone de Beauvoir wrote an essay about her that lauded the example Bardot set for women seeking to break the constraints of contemporary society.
She was also a singer and dancer, having studied ballet in her youth at the famous Conservatoire de Paris, the Julliard of Paris. Arguably, she was an early example of a pop idol, with her career beginning at 15 with an appearance on the cover of the French publication of the fashion magazine Elle. Her multi-talented career included 60 songs in addition to her 77 acting credits.
Brigitte Bardot’s Early Retirement
She left all the fame and success behind in 1973 when she retired from entertainment, breaking that retirement only for a 1974 Playboy spread in honor of her 40th birthday. She took up the cause of animal rights, establishing a foundation in her name in 1986. She advocated against dolphin hunting in the Faroe Islands, against the inhumane extermination of animals in Romania, Australia, and at home in France.
She was also a symbol of France, having hailed from Paris. In 1969, the country honored her by making her the first living portrayal of Marianne, an icon of the French Republic. Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, honored her memory by saying, “Her films, her voice, her dazzling glory… Brigitte Bardot embodied a life of freedom.”
Brigitte Bardot Convicted Of Hate Speech Crimes
More recently, she came under fire for views considered far-right by some, including outspoken criticisms of Muslims and immigration in France. She decried what she saw as excesses from activists representing feminism and LGBTQ rights. Some of her views landed her in trouble with the law.
After being convicted of Incitement To Racial Hatred and Public Insults Toward A Group by the French government, she paid thousands of euros in fines. Those convictions were for things she said in public and in her books about various groups, including her ex-husband and son.
Brigitte Bardot’s Personal Life
Her sexual liberation on-screen was echoed by her off-screen life, which included four marriages and one child, a son named Nicolas. She also had many romantic relationships with famous actors, musicians, and playboys of the day, the kind of stories that splash across the headlines, especially since they were marked by numerous incidences of her infidelity.
Her pregnancy drew the attention of the entire world as paparazzi tried to get pictures of the sex symbol’s baby bump, making her extremely self-conscious. She controversially hated motherhood and sent her son to live with his father upon their divorce. She talked about both in her memoir, which caused a lawsuit for defamation that were won by the two men. Eventually, she reconciled with Nicolas and they formed a relationship toward the end of her life.
She also famously survived breast cancer in 1984, another realm in which her feminine strength sustained her. She turned down chemotherapy in favor of radiation and eventually recovered from the devastating disease.
In October, Bardot was admitted to a hospital in her home of St Tropez for a “serious illness” that required surgery, but she was reported to have recovered from that episode. However, it was a red flag for her failing health, and she died on December 28, 2025, in her home.
To quote Macron, Bardot was a “legend of the century” who helped pave the way for modern women’s liberation and sexual freedom. Love her or hate her, she was an international icon who is engraved into our cultural history.