Overview
- Her foundation confirmed her death and told the Associated Press she died at home in southern France, with no cause provided and no funeral plans yet announced.
- French President Emmanuel Macron called her a legend and praised a life defined by freedom and a passionate defense of animals as tributes poured in across France.
- Bardot’s breakout in And God Created Woman made her a global sex symbol, and her image later modeled Marianne, the national emblem of the French Republic.
- After retiring in the early 1970s, she founded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation in 1986, led high-profile animal-welfare campaigns such as against seal hunts, and her lobbying helped drive EU curbs on seal products.
- Her later public life drew repeated convictions in French courts for inciting racial hatred and close associations with far-right figures, leaving a legacy both celebrated and contentious.