Brigitte Bardot

Her beauty and natural sensuality began to show as a teenager and in 1952, she appeared on screen for the first time in Le Trou Normand. That same year, at age 18, she married director Roger Vadim.

Bardot starred with Jean-Louis Trintignant in Vadim's film And God Created Woman, which pushed the boundaries of sex in film at the time, making her an overnight sensation. To this day, the scene of Bardot dancing barefoot on a table remains one of the most erotic scenes in the history of the cinema.

She is one of the few European actresses to receive mass media attention in the United States, still a "sex kitten" to this day. She and Marilyn Monroe were the icons of female sexuality in the 1950s and 1960s. Whenever she made public appearances in the United States, her every move was covered by a horde of media. Her first American made film was 1954's Un acte d'amour co-starring Kirk Douglas. In 1965 she appeared as herself in the Hollywood production Dear Brigitte starring Jimmy Stewart. Because her English was limited, many of her films were released in the U.S. with her voice dubbed over.

In 1974, just before her fortieth birthday, Bardot announced her retirement. After appearing in more than fifty motion pictures, and recording several music albums, most notably with France's "bad boy" of music, Serge Gainsbourg, she chose to use her fame to promote animal rights. In 1976 she established the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Protection of Distressed Animals. Today, she is one of the world's most influential animal rights activists.

Quotation

• "She is the princess of pout, the countess of come hither. Brigitte Bardot exuded a carefree, naive sexuality that brought a whole new audience to French films." Time Magazine

External link

• Brigitte Bardot's web page (http://www.fondationbrigittebardot.fr/uk/)