Brigitte Bardot, a French actress who transformed French cinema in the 1950s and came to represent sexual emancipation, passed away at the age of 91.
The iconic actress, known in her native country as “BB,” starred in nearly fifty movies including `And God Created Woman’. She resigned in 1973 to focus on animal welfare.
The Brigitte Bardot Foundation honored her as a “world-renowned actress,” while French President Emmanuel Macron said the country was grieving “a legend of the century.”
Bardot’s reputation suffered later in life as a result of her homophobic remarks and repeated fines for inciting racial hatred.
In a statement, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which she founded, expressed “immense sadness” over her passing.
According to the animal welfare organization, she was “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 didn’t say when or where Bardot passed away.
“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 wrote in remembrance.
“French existence, universal brilliance. She touched us. We mourn a legend of the century.”
Born in Paris in 1934, Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot came from a rich family that desired for her to pursue a career as a ballerina.
After appearing on the cover of Elle magazine in her teens, she became well-known in her native country and was convinced to pursue a career in film.
Her most famous roles were as a sexually liberated woman in the 1956 film `And God Created Woman’ which was directed by her then-husband Roger Vadim.
The French existentialist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir praised her as a symbol of “absolute freedom” while the movie scandalized the American audience and was banned in some US states.