Brigitte Bardot, Icon and Provocateur, Dead at 91

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Shortly before she passed away, Brigitte Bardot did an interview with BFMTV. The interviewer, Steven Bellery, noted it had been eleven years since she last acted in a film. When asked why she agreed to be filmed now, Bardot, looking small but dignified in her Saint-Tropez home, simply stated: “I’m going to war.”

I’ve always been captivated by Brigitte Bardot, not just for her incredible beauty and iconic role in And God Created Woman, but for her deep compassion. It really struck me that, later in life, she dedicated herself to animal welfare. She passionately campaigned against cruel hunting practices – she even called hunting with hounds a ‘horror’ and asked the French government to ban it. Since 1986, her foundation has been tirelessly working to help animals everywhere, running shelters, promoting spaying and adoption, and protecting vulnerable species. It’s truly inspiring to see someone use their platform to advocate for those who can’t speak for themselves.

Brigitte Bardot, who recently passed away at age 91, was also known for her strong, and often controversial, political views. She publicly opposed Muslim immigration, expressing her concerns in letters and books, and faced legal consequences multiple times for inciting racial hatred.

Decades after her films first provoked scandal and fascination, she remained a study in contrasts. 

Career as a bombshell

Brigitte Bardot was born in 1934 into a well-off family in Paris. She began studying ballet and started modeling as a teenager. This led her to meet filmmaker Roger Vadim, who later became her husband.

I first discovered Brigitte Bardot when I was getting into classic cinema. She was only eighteen when she exploded onto the scene in And God Created Woman – it was a huge hit, totally scandalous for its time, and really cemented her as a sex symbol. Over the next twenty years or so, she made so many films, including a fantastic turn in Jean-Luc Godard’s Contempt. What always struck me was her incredibly captivating presence – that slow, dreamy gaze and her full, expressive smile. She really felt like she represented a new kind of freedom for women on screen, a real shift in how female sexuality was portrayed.

Second act as an activist

Brigitte Bardot’s final film was The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot in 1973. She then announced her retirement from acting and dedicated herself to animal rights activism. In 1977, she famously participated in a Greenpeace campaign against the Canadian seal hunt, posing with a harp seal pup on the ice.

These dramatic actions weren’t her only projects. Her organization also supported a program with the mayor of Bucharest, Romania, to sterilize the city’s large population of stray dogs instead of killing them.

Far-right symbol

Brigitte Bardot married businessman Bernard d’Ormale in 1992, who was also an advisor to the leader of France’s far-right National Front, Jean-Marie Le Pen. She became known for publicly criticizing many different groups, often expressing strong disapproval. Her targets included LGBTQ+ people, supporters of the #MeToo movement, and even kosher butchers. After being sued by civil rights organizations, she was ultimately found guilty five times of inciting hatred.

Following Brigitte Bardot’s death, French politician Marine Le Pen praised her as an exceptional woman known for her talent, courage, honesty, and beauty in a post on X. President Emmanuel Macron also shared his condolences on X, stating that Bardot represented a life of freedom and was a beloved legend.

In a YouTube interview with BFMTV, Brigitte Bardot spent a considerable amount of time discussing the end of traditional hunting with dogs.

“Will abolishing this be how people remember you?” the journalist pressed. “What will be your lasting impact?” She responded with a smile and a quick shake of her head. “Oh, no. There’s so much more to my life than that.” She laughed softly, seeming to consider her accomplishments, before returning to the topic of animal suffering.

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2025-12-28 21:06