Legendary French actress and lifelong animal rights advocate Brigitte Bardot has died at the age of 91, according to a statement released by the Brigitte Bardot Foundation.
“The Brigitte Bardot Foundation announces with immense sadness the death of its founder and president, Madame Brigitte Bardot, a world-renowned actress and singer, who chose to abandon her prestigious career to dedicate her life and energy to animal welfare and her foundation,” the organization said in a statement shared with Agence France-Presse.
Bardot had been briefly hospitalized in late October at Saint-Jean Hospital in Toulon, where she underwent a minor surgical procedure, according to her office.
Rising to international fame in the 1950s and 1960s, Bardot became one of the most recognizable figures in film history. Her breakout role in the 1956 movie And God Created Woman turned her into a global sensation and cemented her image as the era’s ultimate “sex kitten,” a label that followed her throughout her acting career.
She went on to work with some of the most influential directors of her time, including Jean-Luc Godard, Henri-Georges Clouzot, and Louis Malle, appearing in acclaimed films such as La Vérité, Contempt (Le Mépris), and Viva Maria!. Her on-screen presence helped redefine femininity and freedom in postwar European cinema.
At the height of her fame, Bardot shocked fans by walking away from acting entirely in 1973. She later explained that she had simply had enough of life under constant scrutin
Observers have long noted that her departure reflected deep exhaustion with fame itself. Bardot became increasingly uncomfortable being endlessly photographed and scrutinized, ultimately choosing privacy over celebrity.
After leaving the screen, she devoted herself almost entirely to animal welfare, becoming one of the most outspoken and controversial animal rights activists in Europe. Through her foundation, she campaigned fiercely against animal cruelty, hunting practices, and the fur trade.
French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Bardot, calling her a symbol of freedom and a defining figure in France’s cultural history.
“Her films, her voice, her dazzling glory, her generous passion for animals — Brigitte Bardot embodied a life of freedom,” Macron wrote. “We mourn a legend of the century.”
In a recent 90-minute documentary that premiered in France earlier this month, Bardot reflected candidly on her outlook on life.
“The more I advance in my life, the more I fear humans. I’m more animal than human,” she said.
Bardot was married four times and is survived by her son, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier. Her legacy lives on not only through her groundbreaking film career, but also through decades of relentless advocacy for animals — a cause she embraced long after the cameras stopped rolling.