From AP News: Brigitte Bardot, the French 1960s sex symbol who became one of the greatest screen sirens of the 20th century and later a militant animal rights activist and far-right supporter, has died. She was 91.
Bardot died Sunday at her home in southern France, according to Bruno Jacquelin, of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the protection of animals. Speaking to The Associated Press, he gave no cause of death, and said that no arrangements had been made for funeral or memorial services. She had been hospitalized last month.
Bardot became an international celebrity as a sexualized teen bride in the 1956 movie “And God Created Woman.” Directed by then husband Roger Vadim, it triggered a scandal with scenes of the long-legged beauty dancing on tables naked.
At the height of a cinema career that spanned more than two dozen films and three marriages, Bardot came to symbolize a nation bursting out of bourgeois respectability. Her tousled, blond hair, voluptuous figure and pouty irreverence made her one of France’s best-known stars, even as she struggled with depression.
Bardot was so popular in France that in 1969, she was chosen to be the model for “Marianne,” the national emblem of France and the official Gallic seal. Her face was featured on statues, postage stamps, and coins.
Bardot was also an animal rights activist later in life, drawing attention to multiple causes such as the slaughter of baby seals, the cruelty of bullfighting, animals in laboratory experiments, and Muslim slaughter rituals. She abandoned acting and founded the Fondation Brigitte Bardot in 1986 to protect animals, embodying her famous quote, “I gave my beauty and my youth to men. I am going to give my wisdom and experience to animals.”
Her activism was as sensational as her acting career. She was considered radical and militant for her passionate, often controversial, campaigns against animal cruelty.
“Man is an insatiable predator,” Bardot said in comments to The Associated Press in 2007. “I don’t care about my past glory. That means nothing in the face of an animal that suffers, since it has no power, no words to defend itself.”
In 1985, she was awarded the Legion of Honor, the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, which she accepted for her animal rights efforts and not for acting or celebrity status.
French President Emmanuel Macron called her a “legend” in an X post.
More recently, Bardot sparked controversy once again when she took a “far-right,” anti-immigration stance. She was vocally opposed to allowing immigrants into France, especially Muslims, and was “convicted and fined five times in French courts of inciting racial hatred, in incidents inspired by her opposition to the Muslim practice of slaughtering sheep during annual religious holidays,” the AP reports.
She also drew leftist ire in 2018 during the #MeToo movement. Bardot said most actors protesting sexual harassment in the film industry were “hypocritical” as many played “the teases” with producers to land parts.
Her legacy lives on, as she dedicated her life to differing ideals and stances on both sides of the political spectrum.
“Her films, her voice, her dazzling glory, her initials, her sorrows, her generous passion for animals, her face that became Marianne, Brigitte Bardot embodied a life of freedom,” Macron said of the icon. “French existence, universal brilliance. She touched us. We mourn a legend of the century.”
Ses films, sa voix, sa gloire éblouissante, ses initiales, ses chagrins, sa passion généreuse pour les animaux, son visage devenu Marianne, Brigitte Bardot incarnait une vie de liberté. Existence française, éclat universel. Elle nous touchait. Nous pleurons une légende du siècle.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 28, 2025
Marine Le Pen, a French politician who succeeded her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, as leader of the National Front (now National Rally) party, also memorialized Bardot.
“Brigitte’s departure is an immense sorrow,” Le Pen wrote on X. “France loses an exceptional woman, through her talent, her courage, her frankness, her beauty. A woman who chose to break with an incredible career to devote herself to the animals she defended until her last breath with inexhaustible energy and love.
“She was incredibly French: free, untamable, whole. She will be greatly missed by us.”
Le départ de Brigitte est un chagrin immense. La France perd une femme exceptionnelle, par son talent, son courage, sa franchise, sa beauté. Une femme qui fit le choix de rompre avec une carrière incroyable pour se consacrer aux animaux qu’elle défendit jusqu’à son dernier…
— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) December 28, 2025
The movie star and anti-immigration activist Brigitte Bardot has passed away at the age of 91.
She was convicted 6 times by the French state between 1997 and 2008 for criticising mass-immigration and Islamism.
Rest in Peace Brigitte 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/6M9iByAuvO
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) December 28, 2025
Rest in peace, Brigitte Bardot 🤍 From rescuing pigeons in Saint-Tropez to cherishing her beloved dogs, Brigitte was an angel for animals. A longtime vegetarian and fierce advocate for all species, she sold her jewelry and personal possessions to start a sanctuary and defend… pic.twitter.com/YwUS0or0BG
— PETA (@peta) December 28, 2025
Read more at AP News
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