Brigitte Bardot is a name that millions of people all over the world recognize. She rose to fame as an actress and singer, and eventually became an animal rights activist. She was born Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot in France in September of 1934, in the throes of the Great Depression. She is often referred to as “B.B” both publicly and professionally. You will see here some of her early work.
Photos Of Brigitte Bardot’s Early Work
Empowering Roles
In the ‘50s and ‘60s, Brigitte Bardot shined brighter than most when she became famous for the empowering roles she played in major motion pictures. The women she often portrayed are emancipated and judgement-adverse and they fully embrace their lifestyle as they see fit.
Empowering Roles
A Popular Cultural Icon
In 1973, Bardot retired from the industry although before then, she was as respected and revered as they come. Both then and now, she is a popular cultural icon.
A Popular Cultural Icon
A Performer At Heart
Born and raised in Paris, Bardot dreamed of becoming a ballerina from a really young age. However, she ended up quitting dancing when modeling came calling.
A Performer At Heart
The Start Of Her Acting Career
At the age of 18, Bardot began acting in 1952. Over the next couple of years, she continued to play minor roles in minor films. She also did the occasional popular advertisement.
The Start Of Her Acting Career
Snowballing Popularity
By the time 1957 came, Bardot was snowballing some popularity as an actress. However, it was the movie And God Created Woman which skyrocketed her to international fame.
Snowballing Popularity
Sparking The Interest Of Intellectuals
More than simply entertaining the masses, the film And God Created Woman sparked the interest of many intellectuals in France. The French writer, philosopher, and activist Simone de Beauvoir wrote an essay with the title “The Lolita Syndrome.” Keep reading to learn what it was about…
Sparking The Interest Of Intellectuals
A “Locomotive Of Women’s History”
This essay spread like wildfire and called Brigitte Bardot a “locomotive of women’s history.” It essentially declared the star post-war France’s first and most liberated woman. In the ‘50s and ‘60s, this was a huge moment for the movement of women empowerment.
A “Locomotive Of Women’s History”
Award Nominations
After Bardot’s run of popular films in the late ‘50s, she entered the ‘60s with a bang. She later starred in the film Le Mépris in 1963. Her performance in the 1965 film Viva Maria! earned her a nomination for Best Foreign Actress at the BAFTA Awards.
Award Nominations
An Accomplished Career
By the time she retired in 1973, Bardot had acted in 47 movies, performed in many musicals and recorded over 60 songs. She truly had quite an accomplished career!
An Accomplished Career
More About Bardot
Now that we have introduced who Brigitte Bardot is and have given you an overview of her accomplished career, let us get into her history. Continue reading to see when, where and why the star went into acting in the first place.
More About Bardot
Early Life
Bardot grew up in one of the wealthy areas in Paris. She lived with her father, mother, and sister in a seven-bedroom apartment. Even though comfort and opportunity-filled her youth was, she still felt lonely and isolated owing to the strict rules and expectations.
Early Life
A Childhood Incident
A defining childhood incident turned the tides of Bardot’s fate and directly led to her becoming an outspoken woman. What happened?
A Childhood Incident
An Experience That Broke Her
When Bardot was little, she and her sister broke a really special vase in their home. Their father got so angry that he whipped each child 20 times. He also made them refer to him and their mother as ‘Vous’. This is essentially a ‘Mr.’ or ‘Mrs.’ When it comes to familiarity. This experience broke Bardot, and she started to rebel.
An Experience That Broke Her
The Start Of Her Acting Career
In 1949, 15-year-old Bardot was hired by a couple of magazines as a “junior” fashion model. At the age of 15, Bardot was featured on the cover of Elle, which was published on March 8th, 1950. Her work on the magazine got her an offer to act in the film Les Lauriers.
The Start Of Her Acting Career
Opposition From Parents, Support From Grandfather
While her parents opposed her acting, her grandfather was supportive. He said, “If this little girl is to become a [loose woman], the cinema will not be the cause.”
Opposition From Parents, Support From Grandfather
Another Movie Offer
As Bardot’s modeling career surged, she was featured on the cover of Elle once more in 1952. This landed her a film offer for the 1952 comedy Crazy for Love. By this time, she was already 18 years old and had more autonomy to decide on her own.
Another Movie Offer
More Autonomy
Her modeling career continued to surge, and in 1952, Bardot was on Elle’s cover again. Thanks to this stint, she got another acting offer, this time for the comedy movie Crazy for Love (1952). She was already 18 at the time, so she had much more autonomy when it came to making her own decisions.
More Autonomy
First Paycheck As An Actress
For the role that Bardot played in her first movie, she received 200,000 francs (which is equivalent to €4,700 in 2019!) for portraying a minor role – the main character’s cousin.
First Paycheck As An Actress
Subsequent Roles
For her second film role, Bardot starred in the 1953 Willy Rozier film, Manina, the Girl in the Bikini. She was also in the films His Father’s Portrait and The Long Teeth, which were released in 1953.
Subsequent Roles
A Legend
Today, at the age of 85, Brigitte Bardot still attracts attention! She is a legend from the Golden Age of cinema. We appreciate all her hard work.
A Legend
Practically Perfect
Born into a wealthy Catholic family in Paris, Bardot’s privilege was often dampened by her parents’ conservative morals. She wasn’t allowed to choose her own friends and had to call her parents in formal French, “Vous”. Meaning she was calling them “Mr.” and “Mrs.”.
Practically Perfect
Young Sweetheart
Brigitte was adored from a young age. In fact, at just 15 years old, Bob Dylan used Brigitte Bardot as the inspiration for his first-ever original song. He even referenced her by name in his second album later on.
Young Sweetheart
The Eyes
It turns out that Bardot was born with eye problems. As a result of amblyopia, she had decreased vision in her left eye. We wonder if that had any effect on her or her life in general. Either way, it doesn’t sound good.
The Eyes
Twinkle-Toes
Brigitte grew up during the Nazi Occupation of France in World War II. However, it wasn’t all bad, at least for Brigitte. The military crisis forced her to be home more. As a result, she would spend hours dancing to records. Her mother saw her potential and signed her up for an elite private school that supported her dance efforts. At 15 years old, Brigitte was accepted to the Conservatoire de Paris.
Twinkle Toes
She Won His Heart
When she began acting, Brigitte didn’t get the role in the Marc Allégret film, but on the bright side, she found her future husband. At the audition, Bardot fell instantly fell in love with Roger Vadim. It was ironic that he was there to tell her that she didn’t get the part.
She Won His Heart
Almost Like The Real Thing
It turns out that the Beatles were big fans of Brigitte Bardot. They even planned on having her star in a music video, but it never worked out. All the same, the Frech actress had an impact on the band members’ lives. George Harrison liked comparing his wife to Bardot, while John Lennon’s wife dyed her hair to match the blonde actress more.
Almost Like The Real Thing
Blondes Have More Fun
Brigitte is actually a brunette naturally. She didn’t go blonde until she had a role in the Italian movie, Mio Figlio Nerone. Back then in the ’50s, it was more common to wear a wig instead of dying the actor’s hair. However, Brigitte tried it and loved it so much that she never went back to brown.
Blondes Have More Fun
Arms Crossed
Brigitte was the one to introduce what became known as the “Bardot Pose” to the art of modeling. In a photoshoot she did in 1960, she was shown wearing nothing but black pantyhose, with her arms and legs crossed to keep herself “decent”. This pose was later done by more celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Monica Bellucci.
Arms Crossed
President Of China
Back in 1999, Brigitte wrote a strongly-worded letter to the President of China, Jian Zemin. Why? According to the actress, the Chinese were “torturing bears and killing the world’s last tigers and rhinos to make aphrodisiacs.” The letter was later published for everyone to read in a French magazine.
President Of China
The Higher The Better
Who doesn’t love a tall updo like a beehive? If you do happen to love those kinds of hairdos, you have Brigitte to thank. She’s the one who popularized the choucroute updo. The weirdest part is that the name for it is the French word for sauerkraut.
The Higher The Better
Quick Turnovers
While the two of them were still married to other people, Brigitte was dating her co-star, Jean-Louis Trintignant for two years. Unfortunately, their relationship hardly lasted a year after she and her husband, Roger Vadim, got divorced. The cause for the breakup? Brigitte’s affair with the musician, Gilbert Bécaud.
Quick Turnovers
Third Husband
Brigitte married her third husband in 1966, the German millionaire playboy, Gunter Sachs. He was the heir to one of Germany’s biggest automobile suppliers. He gave Brigitte a Hollywood courtship, flying to her French home by helicopter and dropping dozens of roses onto her property. While that’s sweet, it might not have been worth it since the two divorced three years later.
Third Husband
Happy Birthday
When her 40th birthday came around, Brigitte decided to do something special both for herself and for everyone else. She went ahead and bared it all in a nude photoshoot that she did for Playboy magazine. Can anyone say “birthday suit”?
Happy Birthday
Neck And Shoulders Above
It turns out that the Bardot neckline was named after the iconic French actress. She had a personal penchant for open-necked knitted sweaters. This inspired the cut of shoulder-exposing and wide-necked sweaters and tops.
Neck And Shoulders Above
Less Is More
Clearly, Brigitte was a trendsetter. She is credited with popularizing the bikini in modern culture. One of her most famous appearances at the Cannes Film festival showed her in this “new” bathing suit.
Less Is More
Many Disappointments
The latest in a long line of disappointments for her parents, Brigitte’s relationship with Roger Vadim wasn’t something they supported in the least. Her parents insisted that she finish her education in England before marrying him. Well, it took a suicide attempt on Brigitte’s part – she stuck her head in a working gas oven – to make them budge. Her parents made her wait to marry Roger until she was 18.
Many Disappointments
Easily Replaced
In 1967, Brigitte and her then-boyfriend, Serge Gainsbourg, wrote and recorded the notorious love song, “Je t’aime… moi non plus.” At the time, Brigitte was married to a powerful man and refused to let the single be released. She begged Serge not to let the song out to the public. He agreed. The next year, Serge re-recorded the song with his new girlfriend, Jane Birkin. This version became an international success. All the same, the version with Brigitte was released in 1986.
Easily Replaced
Something Missing
While Bardot loves animals, you might not want to trust her with pet-sitting. In 1989, she was looking after her neighbor’s pet donkey while he was away. Well, she castrated the animal without his owner’s consent. The owner took Brigitte to court over it, where she argued that the donkey was “harassing” her own pet donkey. She said she took things into her own hands.
Something Missing
Popular In The Box Office
Credited with turning Brigitte into an international star, And God Created Woman shows a morally “loose” girl in a traditional small town. Some critics and historians spoke about how the role reduced Brigitte’s character into an “object”. There’s no doubt that it also made Brigitte into the international star she is today.
Popular In The Box Office
Never Meet Your Hero
When it came to meeting his long-time celebrity crush, Brigitte Bardot, John Lennon was incredibly nervous. In his biography, he said that he took some drugs just to calm his nerves. Unfortunately, neither he nor Bardot lived up to the celebrity image in each other’s minds.
Never Meet Your Hero
Consider Her Sunk
After condemning the practice of seal hunting, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society wanted to honor Bridgitte. The organization named a Canadian fast interceptor vessel named after her, the MV Brigitte Bardot.
Consider Her Sunk
Think of Flipper
After sending that letter to the President of China, Brigitte wasn’t done publically appealing to world leaders on behalf of animals. In 2010, she wrote to Queen Margarethe II of Denmark. In this letter, she demanded to end dolphin hunting in the Faroe Islands. Just like her letter to the Chinese, she used some strong words to make her point.
Think Of Flipper
Meow Or Nothing
If you ask Brigitte, we shouldn’t have to choose which animals to save. In 2015, she condemned Australia’s plan to euthanize millions of feral cats to save their endangered bird and animal species. Despite the fact that feral cats were behind 10% of native mammal extinctions in Australia, she said about the project that it’s “absolutely useless, since the rest of them will keep breeding.”
Meow Or Nothing
No Way Out
Brigitte had a hard year in 1958. With her divorce from Roger Vadim, she was then broken up with her sidepiece of two years, Jean-Louis Trintignant. The double loss was said to lead to nervous breakdowns. There were rumors that claimed she even attempted suicide.
No Way Out
The Son Returns
Brigitte has always had a strained relationship with her only son, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier. He was conceived a long time before she married his father, actor Jacques Charrier, in 1959. Less than three years later, the couple divorced and Nicolas was raised by his father’s family. Brigitte has almost no relationship with her son until he was an adult.
The Son Returns