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Brigitte Bardot, French Screen Icon and Animal Rights Activist, Passes Away at 91

Lifestyle and Fashion

Business Honor
29 December, 2025

Renowned for her captivating performances, Bardot later devoted her life to animal rights activism through her foundation.

Brigitte Bardot, the legendary French actress, remarkable style icon, and passionate animal rights advocate, is no longer with us. This sad news was confirmed on AFP news wire by the Brigitte Bardot Foundation who expressed their profound sadness at the passing of their founder and chairwoman. Bardot's contribution to cinema and culture will live on forever. She recorded a duet album with Serge Gainsbourg. Charles De Gaulle once referred to her as “one of France’s most significant exports, on par with Renault automobiles.”

In 1973, Bardot was at the height of her fame when she shocked the world by abandoning the film industry to dedicate the remainder of her life to helping animals. This move showed Bardot's commitment to animal welfare as one of the central tenets of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation. Bardot was born into a privileged family in Paris in 1934 and at the age of 15 she appeared on the cover of Elle magazine. This led to Bardot being discovered by Roger Vadim who later married her. Although Bardot had to deal with the opposition of her family and an emotionally unstable state during their relationship it was also the catalyst for her attaining celebrity status.

Bardot plays a character named Juliette, a young woman torn between traditional values and her desire for freedom that is widely regarded as one of the defining performances of her career. According to many critics, Bardot possessed an extraordinary potential for portraying a new type of femininity and rebellion that defined the cultural experience of the 1960s. As one critic wrote in The New York Times, "She's a phenomenon that has to be seen to be believed," and audiences responded to her presence with excitement.