BRIGITTE BARDOT ,FRENCH ACTRESS
BORN 1934 SEPTEMBER 28
Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot[1][2] (French: [bʁiʒit baʁˈdo]; born 28 September 1934) is a French actress, singer and fashion model, who later became an animal rights activist. She was one of the best known sex symbols of the 1950s and 1960s and was widely referred to by her initials, B.B.[3]
Bardot was an aspiring ballerina in her early life. She started her acting career in 1952. After appearing in 16 routine comedy films, with limited international release, she became world-famous in 1957 after starring in the controversial film And God Created Woman. Bardot caught the attention of French intellectuals. She was the subject of Simone de Beauvoir's 1959 essay,
Bardot retired from the entertainment industry in 1973. During her career in show business, she starred in 47 films, performed in several musical shows and recorded over 60 songs. She was awarded the Legion of Honour in 1985 but refused to receive it.[6] After her retirement, she established herself as an animal rights activist. During the 2000s, she generated controversy by criticizing immigration and Islam in France and has been fined five times for inciting racial hatred.[7
Early life[edit]
Bardot was born in Paris, the daughter of Louis Bardot (1896–1975) and Anne-Marie "Toty" Bardot (née Mucel; 1912–1978). Louis had an engineering degree and worked with his father, Charles Bardot, in the family business. Louis and Anne-Marie married in 1933. Bardot grew up in an upper middle-class Roman Catholic observant home.[9] When she was seven she was admitted to the Cours Hattemer, a private school. She went to school three days a week, and otherwise studied at home. This gave time for lessons at Madame Bourget's dance studio three days a week.[10] Brigitte's mother also enrolled Brigitte's younger sister, Marie-Jeanne (born 5 May 1938), in dance. Marie-Jeanne eventually gave up dancing lessons and did not tell her mother, whereas Brigitte concentrated on ballet. In 1947, Bardot was accepted to the Conservatoire de Paris. For three years she attended ballet classes by Russian choreographer Boris Knyazev. One of her classmates was Leslie Caron. The other ballerinas nicknamed Bardot "Bichette" ("Little Doe").[11]
At the invitation of an acquaintance of her mother, she modelled in a fashion show in 1949. In the same year, she modelled for a fashion magazine "Jardin des Modes" managed by journalist Hélène Lazareff. Aged 15, she appeared on an 8 March 1950 cover of Elle[12] and was noticed by a young film director, Roger Vadim, while babysitting. He showed an issue of the magazine to director and screenwriter Marc Allégret, who offered Bardot the opportunity to audition for Les lauriers sont coupés. Although Bardot got the role, the film was cancelled but made her consider becoming an actress. Her acquaintance with Vadim, who attended the audition, influenced her further life and career.[
Career[edit]
Although the European film industry was then in its ascendancy, Bardot was one of the few European actresses to have the mass media's attention in the United States, an interest which she did not enjoy. She debuted in a 1952 comedy film, Le Trou Normand (English title: Crazy for Love). From 1952 to 1956, she appeared in seventeen films; in 1953 she played a role in Jean Anouilh's stageplay L'Invitation au Château (Invitation to the Castle). She received media attention when she attended the Cannes Film Festival in April 1953.[14]
Her films of the early and mid 1950s were generally lightweight romantic dramas, some historical, in which she was cast as ingénue or siren, often appearing nude or nearly so. She played bit parts in three English-language films, the British comedy Doctor at Sea (1955) with Dirk Bogarde, Helen of Troy (1954), in which she was understudy for the title role but appears only as Helen's handmaid and Act of Love (1954) with Kirk Douglas. Her French-language films were dubbed for international release. Director (and then soon-to-be ex-husband) Roger Vadim showcased her in And God Created Woman (1956) opposite Jean-Louis Trintignant. The film, about an immoral teenager in a respectable small-town setting, was a huge success and turned Bardot into an international star.[14] In 1958 the moniker "sex kitten" was invented for her.[15][16][17]
During her early career, professional photographer Sam Lévin's photos contributed to her image of Bardot's sensuality. One showed Bardot from behind, dressed in a white corset. British photographer Cornel Lucas made images of Bardot in the 1950s and 1960s, that have become representative of her public persona.
Bardot was awarded a David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign actress for her role in A Very Private Affair (Vie privée, 1962), directed by Louis Malle.[18]
In May 1958, Bardot withdrew to the seclusion of Southern France, where she had bought the house La Madrague in Saint-Tropez. In 1963, she starred in Jean-Luc Godard's film Le Mépris. Bardot was featured in many other films along with notable actors such as Alain Delon (Famous Love Affairs; Spirits of the Dead); Jean Gabin (In Case of Adversity); Sean Connery (Shalako); Jean Marais (Royal Affairs in Versailles; School for Love); Lino Ventura (Rum Runners); Annie Girardot (The Novices); Claudia Cardinale (The Legend of Frenchie King); Jeanne Moreau (Viva Maria!); Jane Birkin (Don Juan, or If Don Juan Were a Woman). Her career had traversed epochs where it was possible to say, "In the Sixties and early Seventies, there was no better known – or more scandalous – movie star on earth. — Not since the death of Valentino had a star aroused such insane devotion in their fans."[19] In 1973, Bardot announced she was retiring from acting as "a way to get out elegantly".[20]
She participated in several musical shows and recorded many popular songs in the 1960s and 1970s, mostly in collaboration with Serge Gainsbourg, Bob Zagury and Sacha Distel, including "Harley Davidson"; "Je Me Donne À Qui Me Plaît"; "Bubble gum"; "Contact"; "Je Reviendrai Toujours Vers Toi"; "L'Appareil À Sous"; "La Madrague"; "On Déménage"; "Sidonie"; "Tu Veux, Ou Tu Veux Pas?"; "Le Soleil De Ma Vie" (the cover of Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life"); and the notorious "Je t'aime... moi non-plus". Bardot pleaded with Gainsbourg not to release this duet and he complied with her wishes; the following year, he rerecorded a version with British-born model and actress Jane Birkin that became a massive hit all over Europe. The version with Bardot was issued in 1986 and became a popular download hit in 2006 when Universal Music made its back catalogue available to purchase online, with this version of the song ranking as the third most popular download.[21]
Personal life[edit]
On 21 December 1952, aged 18, Bardot married director Roger Vadim. They divorced in 1957, but remained friends and collaborated in later work.
Bardot had an affair with her And God Created Woman co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant (married at the time to actress Stéphane Audran) before her divorce from Vadim.[13][14] The two lived together for about two years. Their relationship was complicated by Trintignant's frequent absence due to military service and Bardot's affair with musician Gilbert Bécaud, and they eventually separated.[13]
In early 1958, Bardot recovered from a reported nervous breakdown in Italy, according to newspaper reports. A suicide attempt with sleeping pills two days earlier was also noted, but was denied by her public relations manager.[22]
On 18 June 1959, she married actor Jacques Charrier, by whom she had her only child, a son, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier (born 11 January 1960). After she and Charrier divorced in 1962, Nicolas was raised in the Charrier family and did not maintain close contact with Bardot until his adulthood.[13]
Bardot's third marriage was to German millionaire playboy Gunter Sachs from 14 July 1966 to 1 October 1969.[13][14] In 1968 she began dating Patrick Gilles, who went on to costar with her in The Bear and the Doll (1970); she ended their relationship in the spring of 1971.[23]
Bardot also dated bartender/ski instructor Christian Kalt, club owner Luigi Rizzi, musician (later producer) Bob Zagury, singer Serge Gainsbourg, writer John Gilmore, actor Warren Beatty and Don Juan, or If Don Juan Were a Woman co-star Laurent Vergez.[24][25] In 1974, she appeared in a nude photo shoot in Playboy magazine, which celebrated her 40th birthday.
From 1975 to December 1979,[26] Bardot lived with sculptor Miroslav Brozek and posed for some of his sculptures. She was then involved in a long-term relationship with French TV producer Allain Bougrain-duBourg.[26]
On 28 September 1983, her 49th birthday, Bardot took sleeping pills or tranquilizers with red wine. A clinic pumped her stomach and released her.[26]
She is a breast cancer survivor.[27][28]
Bardot's fourth and current husband is Bernard d'Ormale, former adviser of Jean-Marie Le Pen, former leader of the far right party Front National; they have been married since 16 August 1992.[29]
Animal welfare activism[edit]
In 1973, before her 39th birthday, Bardot announced her retirement. After appearing in more than forty motion pictures and recording several music albums, most notably with Serge Gainsbourg, she chose to use her fame to promote animal rights.
In 1986, she established the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Welfare and Protection of Animals.[30] She became a vegetarian[31] and raised three million francs to fund the foundation by auctioning off jewellery and personal belongings.[30]
She is a strong animal rights activist and a major opponent of the consumption of horse meat. In support of animal protection, she condemned seal hunting in Canada during a visit to that country with Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.[32] On 25 May 2011 the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society renamed its fast interceptor vessel, MV Gojira, as MV Brigitte Bardot in appreciation of her support.[33]
Filmography[edit]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Le Trou normand | Javotte Lemoine | (Crazy for Love) |
| Manina, la fille sans voile | Manina | (The Lighthouse-Keeper's Daughter / The Girl in the Bikini) | |
| Les dents longues | Bridesmaid | (The Long Teeth) Uncredited | |
| 1953 | Le Portrait de son père | Domino | (His Father's Portrait) |
| Act of Love | Mimi | ||
| 1954 | Si Versailles m'était conté | Mademoiselle de Rozille | (Royal Affairs in Versailles) |
| Tradita | Anna | (Concert of Intrigue) | |
| 1955 | Le Fils de Caroline chérie | Pilar d'Aranda | (Caroline and the Rebels) |
| Futures vedettes | Sophie | (Sweet Sixteen / School for Love) | |
| Doctor at Sea | Hélène Colbert | ||
| Les grandes manoeuvres | Lucie | (The Grand Maneuver) | |
| La Lumière d'en face | Olivia Marceau | (The Light Across the Street ) | |
| 1956 | Helen of Troy | Andraste | |
| Cette sacrée gamine | Brigitte Latour | (Mam'zelle Pigalle / Naughty Girl) | |
| Mio figlio Nerone | Poppaea | (Nero's Weekend) | |
| En effeuillant la marguerite | Agnès Dumont | (Plucking the Daisy / Mademoiselle Striptease) | |
| Et Dieu créa la femme | Juliette Hardy | (And God Created Woman) | |
| La Mariée est trop belle | Chouchou | (The Bride Is Much Too Beautiful) | |
| 1957 | Une Parisienne | Brigitte Laurier | |
| 1958 | Les bijoutiers du clair de lune | Ursula | (The Night Heaven Fell) |
| En cas de malheur | Séverine Serizy | (In Case of Adversity) | |
| 1959 | La femme et le Pantin | Eva Marchand | (A Woman Like Satan) |
| Babette s'en va-t-en guerre | Babette | (Babette Goes to War) | |
| Voulez-vous danser avec moi? | Virginie Dandieu | (Come Dance with Me!) | |
| 1960 | Le Testament d'Orphée | Herself | (The Testament of Orphée) Cameo |
| Affaire d'une nuit | Woman in restaurant | (It Happened All Night) Cameo, uncredited | |
| La Vérité | Dominique Marceau | (The Truth) David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress | |
| 1961 | La Bride sur le cou | Sophie | (Please!, Not Now!) |
| Les Amours célèbres | Agnes Bernauer | (Famous Love Affairs) | |
| 1962 | Vie privée | Jill | (A Very Private Affair) |
| Le Repos du guerrier | Geneviève Le Theil | (Warrior's Rest) or (Love on a Pillow) | |
| 1963 | Le Mépris | Camille Javal | (Contempt) |
| 1964 | Une ravissante idiote | Penelope Lightfeather | (The Ravishing Idiot) |
| 1965 | Dear Brigitte | Herself | |
| Viva Maria! | Maria I | Nomination – BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress | |
| 1966 | Marie Soleil | Herself | Cameo |
| Masculin, féminin | Herself | Actress in bistro (cameo) | |
| 1967 | À coeur joie | Cecile | (Two Weeks in September) |
| 1968 | Histoires extraordinaires | Giuseppina | (Spirits of the Dead) |
| Shalako | Countess Irina Lazaar | ||
| 1969 | Les Femmes | Clara | (The Vixen) |
| 1970 | L'Ours et la Poupée | Felicia | (The Bear and the Doll) |
| Les Novices | Agnès | (The Novices) | |
| 1971 | Boulevard du Rhum | Linda Larue | (Rum Runners) |
| Les Pétroleuses | Louise | (The Legend of Frenchie King) | |
| 1973 | Don Juan 1973 ou Si Don Juan était une femme... | Jeanne | (Don Juan, or If Don Juan Were a Woman) |
| L'histoire très bonne et très joyeuse de Colinot Trousse-Chemise | Arabelle | (The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot) |
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