The French actress and singer Brigitte Bardot (Paris, 1934) died this Sunday at the age of 91, as reported by her foundation in a statement. Bardot was one of the most relevant figures of French culture in the 1950s and 1960s, when she participated in films such as The Woman and the Puppet (Julien Duvivier), Contempt (Jean-Luc Godard), Viva María! (Louis Malle) or The Testament of Orpheus (Jean Cocteau). She was considered by the society of that time as an icon of sensuality.
The performer began her artistic career as a ballet dancer, although at the age of 18 she began her career in cinema with the film The Norman Hole (1952). Two years later, in 1954, she began working in the United States, where European actresses were not yet valued. Bardot co-starred An act of lovewith Kirk Douglas. A decade later she returned to work in the American industry, playing herself in the film Dear Brigittewith James Stewart. Although his films were box office hits, they often did not receive the same recognition from critics.
Bardot was also a fashion reference. In the early fifties, she scandalized the film industry by posing in a bikini in Cannes and popularized a type of neckline that showed her shoulders and ended up being named after her surname: the Bardot neckline. Her image and aesthetics are still present and every summer there are fashion brands that recover the headscarves and espadrilles that she used so much in her summer poses.
He retired from the screens in 1973 and from then on he dedicated much of his time to the defense of animal rights and the foundation that bears his name. He spent the last years of his life at La Madrague, his residence in Saint-Tropez, in the south of France, where he lived with his dogs, his cats and his pigeons.
The artist was the protagonist of several controversies for her statements on political issues and her speech against vaccines: she supported Le Pen’s far-right party and during the pandemic she positioned herself in favor of the anti-vaccine movement and against the health policy of French President Emmanuel Macron.
