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NEED TO KNOW
- French actress Brigitte Bardot has died aged 91.
- She walked away from acting when she was 39 to campaign for animal welfare. Decades later, she set up the Brigitte Bardot Foundation.
- During her career on the screen, she appeared in more than 50 films.
Brigitte Bardot’s cause of death has been revealed as she was laid to rest.
The news of the French actress’ death at the age of 91 was shared by the Brigitte Bardot Foundation on December 28 AEST.
Her funeral took place on January 7, and her husband, Bernard d’Ormale, spoke out about his wife’s passing shortly before the service.
Speaking to French magazine, Paris Match, Bernard shared that Brigitte had been diagnosed with cancer before her death.
He said she had been experiencing severe back pain, but was at peace when she died at her home in Saint-Tropez, France.
The couple had been together for 33 years, and Bernard also emotionally shared the final words they shared before her death.
“I sat up when I heard her say ‘Pioupiou,’ that little nickname we used for each other in private, and then it was over,” he said, according to HELLO! Magazine.
Bernard was joined by hundreds of mourners who arrived to pay their respects to Brigitte at her funeral in Saint-Tropez on January 7.
She was laid to rest at the Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption Catholic Church.
On December 28 AEST, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation shared a statement confirming Brigitte’s death.
“The Brigitte Bardot Foundation announces with immense sadness the death of its founder and president, Madame Brigitte Bardot, 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 read.
Health concerns
Before her passing, there were growing fears for Brigitte following a mysterious health scare.
At the time, she was hospitalised for three weeks at Saint-Jean Private Hospital in Toulon, France, suffering from a “serious illness”.
Her admission was shrouded in secrecy, with the news only coming to light on October 18. Her representatives quickly issued a statement saying they would “not respond to any requests” about the star’s surgery or recovery.
Speaking on Brigitte’s behalf, they simply gave their thanks to “everyone who is concerned about her health”.
The hospitalisation followed an incident in 2023, where first responders were called to Brigitte’s home after she had difficulty breathing.
Brigitte’s husband, Bernard, told reporters that the hot European summer was to blame, downplaying it as a “respiratory distraction”.
This health crisis came amid an explosive new documentary about Brigitte.
Titled Bardot, the film gives an unprecedented look at the life of the glamorous ‘sex kitten’ who famously turned her back on the spotlight. It launched at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Her unforgettable legacy
During her time on the big screen, Brigitte became a global icon, representing the post-war figure of female sexual liberation.
Her breakthrough came with the 1956 film And God Created Woman, which was directed by her first husband, Roger Vadim.
It was her headline-making love affairs that courted the most attention, although Brigitte has never shied away from her sometimes racy lifestyle.
She once told British Vogue that she “didn’t give a damn about it. It was better to be there and be sexy than ugly”.
Ultimately, Brigitte turned her back on acting in 1973 at the age of 39. She became a proud advocate of animal rights, spending the ensuing decades campaigning against various abuses and setting up her own foundation in Paris.
“I gave my beauty and my youth to men,” she famously said. “I am going to give my wisdom and experience to animals.”
Why did Brigitte Bardot reject her son?
She also became a mother, welcoming son Nicolas-Jacques in 1960 with ex-husband Jacques Charrier.
After their divorce, their son mainly lived with his father.
They had a difficult relationship but finally reconciled in 2018. In 2024, she told Le Pointe that she did not plan to speak about her son publicly.
While she may no longer be in front of the camera, Brigitte has never been far from the headlines.
What was controversial about Brigitte Bardot?
In 2008, she garnered negative attention for repeatedly “inciting racial hatred” over her controversial remarks about Islam.
Then in 2018, she caused uproar when she criticised the “hypocritical” #MeToo movement, which saw actresses denouncing sexual harassment in the entertainment industry.
With her legacy under scrutiny and her health on the brink, the documentary promises to explore all parts of Brigitte’s fascinating and tumultuous life.
As she herself once said, “I have been very happy, very rich, very beautiful, much adulated, very famous and very unhappy.”
