The actress helped redefine female freedom on screen before retreating from fame to focus on animal rights activism
Brigitte Bardot, the French film star whose image and career helped redefine femininity on screen in post-war Europe, has died at the age of 91.
The news was reported by Italian media on Saturday and confirmed in France. Bardot, who had withdrawn from public life decades ago, died after a long period of fragile health. Further details surrounding her death were not immediately disclosed.
Born in Paris on 28 September 1934, Bardot rose to international fame in the 1950s and 1960s, becoming one of the most recognisable faces of European cinema. Her breakthrough role came in 1956 with And God Created Woman, directed by Roger Vadim, a film that made her a global icon and challenged prevailing moral and cinematic conventions of the time.
With her distinctive style, sensual screen presence and nonconformist attitude, Bardot came to symbolise a new kind of female freedom. She starred in more than 40 films, working with leading directors and actors, and also enjoyed success as a singer, releasing several popular songs. Her initials, “B.B.”, became shorthand for an entire era of popular culture.
At the height of her fame, Bardot made a decision that surprised many: in 1973, aged just 39, she retired from acting. From that point on, she devoted her life almost entirely to animal rights activism. In 1986 she founded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which campaigns internationally against animal cruelty, hunting practices and the use of animals in entertainment.
In her later years, Bardot remained a polarising public figure. While widely admired for her commitment to animal welfare, she also attracted controversy for a series of public statements on immigration and Islam, which led to multiple convictions in France for incitement to racial hatred. These episodes complicated her public legacy, particularly in her home country.
Despite the controversies, Bardot’s cultural impact is undeniable. She influenced fashion, cinema and popular attitudes toward sexuality, and remains one of the most enduring symbols of French cinema worldwide.
Tributes have begun to emerge from across the film world, with many remembering her as a performer who broke taboos and reshaped the image of women on screen.
