Brigitte Bardot Has Died at Age 91 Sophie WangDecember 29, 2025 at 12:56 AM 0 "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Brigitte Bardot has passed away. At the age of 91, the French actress and animal rights activist died in her home in southern France, leaving behind an expansive, though complicated, legacy.
- - Brigitte Bardot Has Died at Age 91
Sophie WangDecember 29, 2025 at 12:56 AM
0
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
Brigitte Bardot has passed away. At the age of 91, the French actress and animal rights activist died in her home in southern France, leaving behind an expansive, though complicated, legacy.
Bardot's animal rights foundation announced the news of her passing today, December 28, with a statement made to Agence France-Presse: "The Brigitte Bardot Foundation pays tribute to the memory of an exceptional woman who gave everything and gave up everything for a world more respectful of animals. Her legacy lives on through the actions and struggles the Foundation continues with the same passion and the same fidelity to her ideals."
While the foundation did not mention a cause of death, the former actress had been hospitalized last month due to poor health.
Circa 1960 Hulton Archive - Getty Images
Born in Paris in 1934, Bardot began her acting career in 1952 with the project Crazy for Love, before achieving international stardom for her role in 1956's And God Created Woman. Throughout the next decade, the young actress was heavily influential in making foreign films popular with Americans, offering fresh and groundbreaking work at a time when nudity laws were abundant in Hollywood. Through her films—the most famous including The Truth (1960) and Contempt (1963)—she earned the nickname "Sex Kitten" and was widely considered one of the most iconic sex symbols of the '60s. In 1967, she was nominated for Best Foreign Actress at the BAFTAs for her portrayal of Marie Fitzgerald O'Malley in Viva Maria!, and President Charles de Gaulle declared her "the French export as important as Renault cars."
Bettmann - Getty Images
French feminist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir, in her 1959 essay The Lolita Syndrome, called Bardot the most liberated woman of France—and if her influence on the fashion industry and style of the time proved anything, she took women everywhere along on the ride.
Credited with popularizing the (previously risqué) swimsuit in the United States, the shoulder-baring open neckline known colloquially as "the Bardot," and her signature voluminous blowout, she inspired Houses such as Dior, Balmain, and Pierre Cardin, musicians and artists such as Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol, and the Beatles, and stars for generations to come. She was even used as a model for France's statue of Marianne, a symbol of the French Republic, and, just last year, Simon Porte Jacquemus designed his 15th anniversary collection inspired by the actress and her film Contempt, presented at the Italian villa where it was filmed.
Bettmann - Getty Images
When her film career ended in 1973, she turned her attention to animal rights, using her fame to raise money and awareness for a cause close to her heart. In 1986, she created the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, dedicating the rest of her life to animal protection.
2001 Charly Hel/Prestige - Getty Images
Though a symbol of an international sexual revolution, Bardot's own political beliefs took a turn in the 1990s, when she married Bernard d'Ormale—the advisor to the far-right party Front National's founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen. She aligned herself with the political party's ideas, and throughout her final decades, used her platform to spread Islamaphobic, homophobic, and xenophobic messages. She was convicted six times in French courts for inciting racial hatred—the most recent being in 2022, after she called the French island of Réunion "a degenerate population" who had "kept the genes of savages."
The disconnect between the influence of her work and her personal political beliefs has sparked discourse and discussion surrounding the separation of the art from the artist—a topic still prevalent today.
You Might Also Like
4 Investment-Worthy Skincare Finds From Sephora
The 17 Best Retinol Creams Worth Adding to Your Skin Care Routine
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: December 28, 2025 at 08:45PM on Source: RON MAG
#ShowBiz#Sports#Celebrities#Lifestyle