French film icon Brigitte Bardot dies at 91 PHOTO

Brigitte Bardot, the French actor and singer who rose to global fame as a leading sex symbol of the 1950s and 1960s before abandoning cinema to become a prominent animal rights activist, has died at the age of 91.

“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,” the organisation said in a statement sent to Agence France-Presse on December 28. The statement did not specify the time or place of her death.

Bardot achieved international stardom with the 1956 film And God Created Woman, written and directed by her then-husband Roger Vadim. The role transformed her into a cultural phenomenon and one of France’s most famous exports, embodying the archetype of the liberated, sensual “sex kitten” for nearly two decades.

In the early 1970s, Bardot announced her retirement from acting and withdrew from public artistic life, redirecting her focus toward animal rights activism. She later founded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which became a major force in animal welfare campaigns.

Her later years, however, were also marked by controversy. Bardot’s outspoken political views included repeated statements about ethnic minorities and open support for France’s far-right Front National, leading to multiple convictions for incitement to racial hatred.

Born in Paris in 1934, Bardot was raised in a prosperous Catholic family and initially trained as a ballet dancer, studying at the Conservatoire de Paris. She began modeling as a teenager and appeared on the cover of Elle magazine at the age of 15. Her modeling career led to early film roles, and she married Roger Vadim in 1952 shortly after turning 18.

Bardot went on to star in dozens of films, including Doctor at Sea (1955), before becoming one of the most recognisable figures in global popular culture.