The Birth of Brigitte Bardot, Film Star and Animal Advocate

On 28 September 1934, Brigitte Bardot was born in Paris. She would become one of the most recognisable faces of French cinema, achieving international fame during the 1950s and 1960s. Later, she left acting behind and devoted much of her life to animal protection.

From Ballet to the Screen

Bardot’s early ambition centred on dance. She trained in classical ballet before moving into modelling and appearing on magazine covers. Her film career began in 1952 with Le Trou normand, opening the way to further roles in French and international productions.

Her breakthrough came in 1956 with Roger Vadim’s And God Created Woman. The film brought her worldwide attention and established the screen persona associated with her famous initials, “B.B.”

An International Film Career

Bardot worked with several leading directors of her generation. In Henri-Georges Clouzot’s La Vérité (1960), she took on a demanding dramatic role. Three years later, she appeared opposite Michel Piccoli in Jean-Luc Godard’s Le Mépris, known in English as Contempt.

Her career also included music, with recordings and collaborations involving Serge Gainsbourg. Across film, photography and song, Bardot became a prominent presence in the popular culture of the period.

A New Direction

In 1973, Bardot retired from acting before her fortieth birthday. Animal welfare became the central focus of her public activity, although she had already spoken about the treatment of animals during her film career.

In 1977, she drew international attention to the hunting of young seals. Her campaigning subsequently addressed issues including the fur trade, the abandonment of pets and the treatment of farm animals.

The Brigitte Bardot Foundation

In 1986, she established the Brigitte Bardot Foundation to organise and support animal protection work. The organisation gained recognition as a public-interest foundation in France in 1992 and developed shelters and projects for domestic and wild animals.

Bardot died on 28 December 2025, aged 91. Her birth anniversary recalls two distinct chapters of her life: her years as an internationally known performer and the decades she dedicated to campaigning for animals.