Brigitte Bardot Dies at 91: The Turbulent Legacy of France's Golden Era Icon

She was the face that launched a thousand headlines and redefined French identity in the post-war era. Brigitte Bardot, the 1960s screen siren who transformed into a fierce animal rights warrior, has died at age 91.

Brigitte Bardot Dies at 91 After a Life of Fame and Controversy

According to the Associated Press, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation confirmed she passed away on Sunday at her residence in southern France. While a specific cause of death wasn't provided, she'd been hospitalized as recently as last month. Bardot's ascent to global stardom began with the 1956 film 'And God Created Woman,' directed by her then-husband Roger Vadim. The movie didn't just break box office records; it shattered social taboos, cementing her status as a symbol of sexual liberation.

From the Silver Screen to the Front Lines of Activism

At the peak of her career, Bardot did something unthinkable: she quit. At age 39 in 1973, she walked away from cinema to dedicate her life to animals. Over the following decades, she became a militant lobbyist, famously traveling to the Arctic to protest seal clubbing and campaigning against everything from lab testing to the consumption of horse meat. Her activism earned her the Legion of Honor in 1985, yet her later years were increasingly clouded by her political shifts.

Bardot's legacy remains deeply polarized. While she fought for the voiceless, she was convicted five times for inciting racial hatred, primarily targeting France's Muslim community and immigrant population. Her alignment with far-right figures like Marine Le Pen and her outspoken criticism of religious rituals involving animals alienated many of her former fans. She once remarked that she identified more with hunted animals than with the people who hounded her throughout her life in the limelight.