Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot was born on September 28, 1934 in Paris, France. ballet dancer, actress, singer, writer, activist, philanthropist, sex symbol and fashion icon. Brigitte is one of the muses with the greatest impact on popular culture
Her acting career began in 1952. Her first successful role was starring in ‘Et Dieu… créa la femme’ directed by Roger Vadim in 1956, which gained international recognition and although it was not her film debut, it is the film that led her to Fame. For her performance in the film ‘Viva Maria!’ (1965) by Louis Malle, she was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Foreign Actress. Brigitte Bardot was an event when she broke into Hollywood. Every time Brigitte made a public appearance in the United States, she was followed by a horde of journalists and photographers who took note and photos of her every move. In 1954 she made her first film in the United States, ‘Un acte d’ amour’, co-starring Kirk Douglas. In 1965 she portrayed herself in the film ‘Dear Brigitte’ with James Stewart but, due to her poor command of English, the actress was dubbed in many of her films. Her striking beauty and stage presence was enough. Brigitte Bardot worked in 47 films.
Singer
In the late fifties, while traveling in Spain, Brigitte Bardot bought a guitar and learned three chords. She didn’t need anything else to accompany her peculiar voice. In the early sixties, her friends Jean-Max Rivière and Claude Bolling convinced her to sing. Eddie Barclay, owner of the studio where Brigitte Bardot recorded on many occasions, had this to say about the blonde’s vocal abilities: “She didn’t sing so much as tell a song. To tell the truth, her voice is rather weak. But God gave her the rare ability to bring a song to the listener and in fact, she is very serious about blowing up her career.”
In 1960, Brigitte Bardot released the album ‘Behind Brigitte Bardot’. Subsequently, several more albums by the actress were published, including ‘Brigitte Bardot Sings’ (1963), ‘B.B’ in (1964) and ‘Special Bardot’ (1968). Bardot sang songs in French, English and Spanish. After a vacation in Brazil with Bob Zaguri, returning to Paris, she recorded the song ‘Maria Nimguem’ in Portuguese. Brigitte Bardot recorded five albums and five compilations have been published with her songs, giving a total of ten albums.
Muse
In 1970, sculptor Alain Gourdon used Brigitte as the model for a bust of Marianne, the symbol of France, and four years later Andy Warhol captured her in an iconic Pop Art portrait. But Bardot, a blonde with a spectacular figure with a charming smile and feline gesture, was not simply a muse: she also set trends.
Brigitte Bardot was key to popularizing the bikini by wearing two-piece swimsuits in films such as ‘Manina, the bikini girl’ (1952). She is also credited with sparking the trend for knitwear with a wide collar that exposes both shoulders: the so-called “Bardot neckline.” Brigitte, a former ballet dancer, asked designer Rose Repetto to make her lightweight shoes like her own dance slippers, resulting in the everyday ballerina.
Retirement
Brigitte Bardot retired from the entertainment industry in 1974 when she turned 40 years old. She was awarded the Legion of Honor in 1985, but she refused to accept it and has written five books. Her life in recent years has been linked to animal activism and certain controversies over her political positions. She has overcome health problems and today, with 89 years old, she remains as a living icon of popular culture.
