Brigitte Bardot, sex icon of cinema, dies

Sitges/BarcelonaBrigitte Bardot, the French actress and singer who became a major European sex symbol after World War II, has died at the age of 91, her foundation has confirmed. She had been hospitalized in Toulon since November due to respiratory failure. Bardot was one of the biggest mass phenomena of her time and became the embodiment of the modern French woman, even adopted as a symbol of France and a new, sexually emancipated femininity. The film And God created womanThe film, directed by her first husband, Roger Vadim, made her a global star in 1956. The actress also excelled in deeper and more complex roles, such as that of... thriller The truth (1960), by Henri-Georges Clouzot; comedy Long live Mary (1965), by Louis Malle, and Jean-Luc Godard's masterpiece, Contempt (1963).

The camera loved Bardot in an unusual, almost magical way, unlike any other European actress before her, and perhaps never since. It's no wonder she was the first celebrity to model for the official bust of Marianne, the symbol of the French Republic, in 1969. In the mid-1950s, Bardot became synonymous with beauty and youth, with a sexy and modern woman, and her arrival on the film scene in France and around the world had an impact similar to that of the Beatles a few years later, heralding a new era with its own popular myths. Bardot, born in 1934, was the daughter of businessman Louis Bardot and enjoyed a comfortable childhood marked by constant comparisons to her sister, her parents' favorite. Wearing glasses and braces, the future sex symbol grew up feeling like the ugly duckling and began to gain confidence when she discovered her first passion: dance. At 14, she entered the Paris Conservatory, but the rigidity and coercive methods of the teachers led her to leave after a year. Bardot's yearning for freedom and independence was already intense, and at 15 she began to capitalize on her beauty and work as a model, a job that quickly led her to star in advertisements and appear on magazine covers. Elle, where Roger Vadim discovered it.

Vadim has gone down in history as her discoverer, but it would be more accurate to say that they discovered each other. When they met, he was a screenwriter and had not directed a single film. But thanks to Bardot and the impact of her appearance at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival, Vadim secured the funding for his directorial debut. And God created womanA film tailor-made for the actress, in which she plays an orphaned and sexually promiscuous girl who falls in love with one man (Christian Marquand) but ends up marrying another (Jean-Louis Trintignant).

The film's success was enormous and immediately established Bardot as a sex symbol of the era, a phenomenon comparable to that of Marilyn Monroe in the United States, which awakened France from its postwar lethargy. The film also made the small village on the French Riviera where it was filmed, Saint-Tropetz, famous worldwide. Bardot used to vacation there with her family and later made it her home. Thanks in large part to the actress and her photographs at the village, Saint-Tropetz became synonymous with glamour and luxury and one of France's major tourist destinations.

The only film Bardot would have saved

Bardot retired when she turned 40, in 1973, but left behind an extensive filmography: 49 films. Among the most iconic are In case of disaster (Claude Autant-Lara, 1958), inspired by a novel by Georges Simenon. The truth, from the master of thriller Henri-Georges Clouzot was one of the actress's greatest cinematic challenges. Her performance was unanimously praised by critics, but she was left emotionally exhausted. Clouzot was known for pushing actresses to their limits. At the end of filming, the French actress attempted suicide. However, she was destined to have fond memories. On one occasion, she said that her entire filmography should disappear, except for... The truth.

Contempt (Jean-Luc Godard, 1963) is another of the actress's most successful dramatic roles and portrays not only the end of a marriage's love, but also Godard's relationship with art and film. From Viva Maria (Louis Malle, 1965), the musical performances of two icons of French cinema, Bardot and Jeanne Moreau, who became friends during filming, will remain etched in the memories of many. Bardot also participated in several musical shows and recorded many popular songs in the 60s and 70s, especially in collaboration with Serge Gainsbourg, Bob Zagury, and Sacha Distel.

Despite retiring from show business in 1973, she never ceased to be a controversial public figure and a headline-grabber. Whether to provoke or not, she never left anyone indifferent. Before becoming a passionate advocate for animal rights, Bardot was involved in an incident that clearly demonstrates she did what she wanted. It was 1967, and the actress met, for the first time, the French president and general, Charles de Gaulle. In an era when it could even be frowned upon for a woman to attend a social event in trousers, Bardot stood before the French president dressed as a Napoleonic hussar. Bardot fascinated because she lived outside the bounds of convention and openly displayed her sexual freedom. She didn't follow the rules.

As she grew older, she didn't undergo cosmetic surgery or try to hide her age. She faced her reflection without fear, but she lived a rather isolated life, focused on animal protection, and made some rather racist comments. She was convicted in court and had to pay fines for "incitement to racial hatred." For example, she was convicted for saying, "I am sick of being under the yoke of this population [the Muslim community] that is destroying us, destroying our country, and imposing its actions on us." She was referring to the lack of anesthesia in the slaughter of sheep. The actress made other quite controversial statements and declared herself an anti-feminist. "Many actresses go around provoking producers to get a role," she snapped, taking a stand against the Me Too movement. She also sympathized with the far right. "Marine Le Pen is magnificent, wonderful, the only woman with a pair of balls," she said. In the end, she felt much closer to animals than to people and fought many battles to defend them. "I am not part of the human species. I don't want to be. I feel different, almost abnormal," she asserted.