Brigitte Bardot, the iconic French actress and singer who captivated the world as a symbol of glamour before dedicating her life to animal advocacy, has died at the age of 91.

Reports indicate that Bardot had been hospitalized in Toulon due to illness, as noted by local news outlets.

In a heartfelt announcement, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation shared, “With deep sorrow, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation confirms the passing of its founder and president, Madame Brigitte Bardot. Renowned globally as an actress and singer, she chose to leave her illustrious career behind to focus on animal welfare and her foundation.”

The statement did not disclose specific details regarding the time or location of her death.

Bardot first captured the public’s imagination as the quintessential “Sex Kitten” with her breakout performance in the 1956 film *And God Created Woman*, directed by her first husband, Roger Vadim.

Her portrayal of a sensual, carefree orphan turned her into an intriguing figure worldwide, despite the film receiving mixed reviews from critics.

Described by Time magazine as France’s ‘most ogled export’, Bardot’s sex appeal was further fuelled by her outings as a model.

The star, who married and divorced three times before settling with her fourth husband Bernard d’Ormale in 1992, retired from acting in 1973 to focus on her passionate animal rights activism. 

Brigitte Bardot has passed away aged 91. Above: The star in 2023, one of the last times she was pictured out and about

Known as the original ‘Sex Kitten’, Bardot shot to international notoriety with her role in 1956 film And God Created Woman, which was directed by her first husband Roger Vadim

But she drew controversy with her engagement in far-right politics, which saw her endorse National Rally leader Marine Le Pen and be fined six times for inciting racial hatred. 

The star was reclusive in her final years, instead preferring to remain out of the spotlight at her secluded and very private property in Saint Tropez. 

Born on September 28, 1934, in Paris, Bardot initially trained as a ballet dancer at the National Superior Conservatory of Paris for Music and Dance.

At 15, she had already appeared on the front cover of France’s Elle magazine and began to establish herself as a model.

Her acting career began in 1952 when she starred in a series of small roles, but she soon began to turn heads at the Cannes Film Festival in 1953 when she frolicked on the beach in a skimpy bikini.

Brardot said: ‘Yes, I knew I was ugly as a child. I said to myself: “Well, I am ugly, so I must at least be bright and funny and have other things to compensate.”

‘I knew I had to be the best at something, otherwise I would be nothing. I knew I wanted the world to know about Brigitte Bardot.’

And the world certainly did.

Over the course of her career she starred in 47 films and recorded more than 70 songs.

Bardot’s willingness to be part of steamy on-screen scenes made her controversial.  And her personal life was no different.

Brigitte Bardot leaves the Elysee Palace on crutches after meeting Brigitte Macron, July 2018

In 1992 Bardot married her husband Bernard d’Ormale, a former adviser to Jean-Marie Le Pen of the Front National

Pictured: Playboy Roger Vadim with Bardot on set. After meeting the model, the French film producer helped her become a star

Bardot’s parents did not initially approve of her union with Vadim but agreed to her marriage after she attempted suicide. Above: Being walked down the aisle by her father, December 19, 1952

Brigitte with her second husband, Jacques Charrier, with whom she had a son, Nicolas

Bardot had little to do with her son Nicolas during his childhood after she gave Charrier custody of him when they divorced

Bardot’s third husband was German industrialist Gunter Sachs. The couple were married between 1966 and 1969 

Despite her parents’ fierce opposition, she married Vadim in 1952. The couple’s relationship lasted just five years.

After their divorce in 1957, Bardot became ensconced with actor Jacques Charrier. 

By the time they married in 1959, she was already heavily pregnant with her first and only child. 

Nicolas-Jacques Charrier was born on January 11, 1960. Bardot would later say: ‘I’m not made to be a mother. 

‘I don’t know why I think this because I adore animals and I adore children, but I’m not adult enough – I know it’s horrible to have to admit that, but I’m not adult enough to take care of a child.

‘I need somebody to take care of me. I’m sad to have had that baby. What will be his life? People who are making babies and families now are mad. It is such a bad world.’

In 1962, Bardot’s union with Charrier ended in divorce. 

She went on to marry German millionaire playboy Gunter Sachs in 1966. But that relationship was similarly short-lived. By 1969, they had divorced.

Brigitte was born into a wealthy family in Paris and began ballet lessons from a young age after her mother enrolled her for classes

A very young Bardot (pictured in 1951) began her modelling career sporting relatively conservative fashion

Brigitte, pictured in 1955, began modelling before her film career took off when she met her first husband, Roger Vadim

Brigitte Bardot pictured smoking a cigarette after arriving in London, April 1959

Brigitte Bardot on the beach in Saint Tropez, 1984

Brigitte Bardot and James Bond star Sean Connery pose for a publicity shot during their first meeting in France before filming Shalako, 1968

Bardot pictured in 1970 at her home, La Madrague, in Saint Tropez 

Bardot became known for her beehive hair, statement fringe – and for having a cigarette in her hand

Brigitte Bardot and French Academician Marcel Achard flanked by photographers attend the French artists Union Gala event at the Cirque d’Hiver in Paris on March 9, 1962 

Brigitte Bardot in a scene from the film Les Femmes, 1969 

La Madrague, the Saint Tropez home of Brigitte Bardot

Although she went on to have a string of other relationships, Bardot did not marry again until 1992, when she tied the knot with businessman Bernard d’Ormale, who had advised the far-right Front National.

Through the course of her life she attempted suicide four different times, including once at just 16.

At the peak of her fame, and after another suicide attempt, fans broke into her property to claim bloodstained curtains and bathroom tiles as mementoes.

After quitting acting in 1973, Bardot took her life in a different direction.

She said: ‘I gave my youth and my beauty to men, I am now giving and my experience, the best of myself, to animals.’

Setting up the Brigitte Bardot Foundation in 1986, she was a dedicated vegetarian and regularly campaigned for the rights of animals.

In 2013 she threatened to request Russian citizenship and leave France after a pair of 42-year-old elephants were refused treatment for tuberculosis in a Lyon zoo.

She referred to France as a ‘graveyard for animals’ but ultimately won the case and saved the two former circus animals.

Bardot became an animal rights activist. Above: Attending the international feline exhibition in Saint-Tropex, France, June 1977

Bardot visiting her dog refuge in Paris, 2001

In 2001 she also donated $140,000 over two years to sterilise and adopt 300,000 of Bucharest’s stray dogs.

Not all of her activism work since quitting acting was quite so well received.

In 2004 she was convicted by a French court and fined £4,000 for ‘inciting racial hatred’ in her book A Scream in the Silence.

She was a keen supporter of the far-right Marine Le Pen. At the 2017 French elections, she told people not to vote for Emmanuel Macron because he had a ‘coldness’ in his ‘steel eyes’.

She lived out the final years of her life in a secluded property in Saint Tropez, a vacation hotspot she allegedly made famous, with her husband.

Bardot will live on through her style and her modelling years.

Never one for tradition, she posed for a nude spread in Playboy to celebrate her 40th birthday.

She created the Bardot pose, where she sat with her legs crossed in just a pair of black stockings, and the Bardot neckline was named after her because she made the style famous.

Her bouffant hair routinely makes a comeback, and her effortless style will continue to draw in fans, long after her death.