Brigitte Bardot: French Film Icon and Animal Rights Activist Dies at 91

Brigitte Bardot was a French actress, singer and model who became an international sex symbol and a cultural icon of the 1950s and 1960s, and later a fierce animal rights activist. Born on September 28, 1934, in Paris, she was known to the world simply as BB.

Bardot became a global star in 1956 with And God Created Woman. She won a David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress in 1961 for The Truth and made dozens of films, including Contempt, and recorded songs such as "Harley Davidson." In 1973 she retired from acting, and in 1986 she founded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for animal welfare. She was awarded the Legion of Honour in 1985.

Bardot was married four times, to Roger Vadim, Jacques Charrier, Gunter Sachs and Bernard d'Ormale, and had one son, Nicolas-Jacques. She died of cancer at her home, La Madrague, in Saint-Tropez on December 28, 2025, at age 91. Remembered as the face of a generation, she left a lasting mark on cinema, fashion and the animal protection movement.

Achievements: Starred in And God Created Woman (1956), won a David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress (1961), awarded the Legion of Honour (1985), founded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation (1986).

Birth: September 28, 1934 - Paris, France.

Profession: Actress, singer, model and animal rights activist.

Interesting Facts: Her silhouette was used as the model for the bust of Marianne, the symbol of the French Republic, in the late 1960s. Andy Warhol painted eight portraits of her in 1974, and an asteroid was named in her honor in 1999.