Brigitte Bardot
| Brigitte Bardot | ||
 Brigitte Bardot in 1962 | ||
| Background information | ||
| AKA: | "BB" | |
| Born | Sep 28, 1934 (age 90) Paris, France | |
| Partner(s): | Jean Blaise (actor)
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| Spouse(s): |
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| Children: | 1 | |
| Occupation: | Actress • singer • animal rights activist | |
| Yrs active: | 1952–1973 (as entertainer) 1973–present (as activist) | |
| Web site: | http://www.esmeforever.com | |
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Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot (born September 28, 1934), often known by her initials B.B., is a French former actress, singer, model, and animal rights activist. Renowned for portraying characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she is one of the most recognized symbols of the sexual revolution. Although she left the entertainment industry in 1973, she continues to be a major pop culture icon. She has appeared in 47 films, performed in several musicals, and recorded over 60 songs. In 1985, she was awarded the Legion of Honor.
Born and raised in Paris, Bardot was an aspiring ballerina throughout her childhood. She began her acting career in 1952 and gained international recognition in 1957 for her role in And God Created Woman (1956), capturing the attention of many French intellectuals and earning her the nickname "sex kitten." She became the subject of philosopher Simone de Beauvoir's 1959 essay The Lolita Syndrome, where she was described as a "locomotive of women's history" and the essay built upon existentialist themes to declare her the most liberated woman in France. She won the 1961 David di Donatello Best Foreign Actress Award for her performance in The Truth (1960). Bardot later starred in Jean-Luc Godard's film Le Mépris (1963). For her role in Louis Malle's film Viva Maria! (1965), she received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress. French President Charles de Gaulle referred to Bardot as "the French export as important as Renault cars."
After retiring from acting in 1973, Bardot became an animal rights activist and established the Brigitte Bardot Foundation. She is known for her strong personality, outspokenness, and advocacy for animal protection; she has been fined twice for public insults. She has also been a controversial political figure, having been fined six times as of November 2021 for inciting racial hatred when she criticized immigration and Islam in France and referred to residents of Réunion as "savages." She is married to Bernard d'Ormale, a former adviser to Jean-Marie Le Pen, a far-right French politician. Bardot is a member of the Global 500 Roll of Honour of the United Nations Environment Programme and has received several awards and accolades from UNESCO and PETA. In 2011, Los Angeles Times Magazine ranked her second on the "50 Most Beautiful Women in Film."
Early life
Bardot was born on September 28, 1934, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris to Louis Bardot (1896–1975) and Anne-Marie Mucel (1912–1978). Bardot's father, originally from Ligny-en-Barrois, was an engineer and owned several industrial factories in Paris. Her mother was the daughter of an insurance company director. She grew up in a conservative Catholic family, as her father had. As a child, she suffered from amblyopia, which resulted in diminished vision in her left eye. She has one younger sister, Mijanou Bardot.
Bardot's childhood was prosperous; she lived in her family's seven-bedroom apartment in the affluent 16th arrondissement. However, she later recalled feeling resentful in her early years. Her father enforced strict behavioral standards, including proper table manners, and required her to wear suitable clothing. Her mother was very selective in choosing her companions, which meant Bardot had very few childhood friends. Bardot recounted a traumatic incident when she and her sister broke their parents' favorite vase while playing in the house; her father punished the sisters with 20 lashes and then treated them like "strangers," insisting that they address their parents using the formal pronoun "vous," which is used in French when speaking to outsiders or those of higher status. This incident caused Bardot to develop a deep resentment for her parents and contributed to her rebellious lifestyle in the future.
During World War II, when Paris was occupied by Nazi Germany, Bardot spent more time at home due to increasingly strict civilian surveillance. She became captivated by dancing to records, which her mother viewed as a pathway to a ballet career. Bardot was admitted to the private school Cours Hattemer at the age of seven. She attended classes three days a week, which allowed her plenty of time to take dance lessons at a local studio arranged by her mother. In 1949, Bardot was accepted into the Conservatoire de Paris. She participated in ballet classes led by Russian choreographer Boris Knyazev for three years. She also studied at the Institut de la Tour, a private Catholic high school close to her home.
Hélène Gordon-Lazareff, the director of the magazines Elle and Le Jardin des Modes, hired Bardot in 1949 as a "junior" fashion model. On March 8, 1950, 15-year-old Bardot appeared on the cover of Elle, which led to an acting offer for the film Les Lauriers sont coupés from director Marc Allégret. Although her parents opposed her decision to become an actress, her grandfather was supportive, stating, "If this little girl is to become a whore, cinema will not be the cause." During the audition, Bardot met Roger Vadim, who later informed her that she did not get the role. They subsequently fell in love. Her parents strongly opposed their relationship; one evening, her father told her that she would continue her education in England and that he had bought her a train ticket for the following day. Bardot's reaction involved putting her head into an oven with an open flame; her parents stopped her and eventually accepted the relationship under the condition that she marry Vadim at 18.
More information
- Career, filmography, discography and bibliography information may be available at [ Wikipedia:Brigitte_Bardot ]
- More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Brigitte_Bardot ]
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