'Legend of the Century': '60s Sex Symbol and French Film Icon Turned Animal Crusader Brigitte Bardot Dead at 91
French actress and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot has died at age 91.
Dec. 28 2025, Published 10:31 a.m. ET
Legendary French actress and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot has died at the age of 91, RadarOnline.com can report.
"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 to the French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Bardot had been briefly hospitalized in late October at Saint-Jean Hospital in Toulon, where she underwent a minor surgical procedure, according to a statement from her office to AFP.
French Icon
The Brigitte Bardot Foundation confirmed her death in a statement.
An icon of French cinema, Bardot rose to fame in the 1950s and 1960s, becoming internationally known for her provocative "sex kitten" image — a label that came to define her on-screen persona. Her breakthrough role came in the 1956 film And God Created Woman, a box office success that transformed her into a global sex symbol.
Throughout her career, Bardot worked with some of the most influential directors of her generation, including Jean-Luc Godard, Henri-Georges Clouzot, and Louis Malle. She starred in acclaimed films such as La Vérité, Contempt (Le Mépris) and Viva Maria!.
Stepped Away from the Spotlight
Bardot worked with acclaimed directors including Jean-Luc Godard, Henri-Georges Clouzot, and Louis Malle.
French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Bardot, calling her a symbol of freedom and describing her as a defining figure in the nation's cultural history.
"Her films, her voice, her dazzling glory, her initials, her sorrows, her generous passion for animals, her face that became Marianne, Brigitte Bardot embodied a life of freedom. French existence, universal brilliance. She touched us. We mourn a legend of the century," Macron wrote on X.
Bardot stepped away from the spotlight in 1973 at the height of her fame, later explaining simply that she had "had enough".
"There was some exhaustion there, not just from the pace of work, but just [being] the endless subject of a camera lens, whether it's a still camera lens or a movie lens," James Clarke, a U.K.-based author and author of the photo book Being Bardot, told outlets earlier this year. "That is one of the things that come[s] out a little bit [in this book]… She got to that point where it's just like, 'I've kind of done it and 20 years has been sufficient.'"
Reflecting on Her Legacy
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Bardot abruptly left the spotlight in 1973.
In a new 90-minute eponymous documentary, Bardot, which began screening in France earlier this month, the actress reflected on her legacy and priorities.
"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.
