former French fashion model, actress, singer and animal rights activist.
She was one of the best-known sex symbols of the 1960s. Starting in 1969,
Bardot's features became the official face of Marianne (who had previously
been anonymous) to represent the liberty of France.
Bardot was an aspiring ballet dancer in early life. She started her
acting career in 1952 and, after appearing in 16 films, became world-famous
due to her role in her then-husband Roger Vadim's controversial film
'And God Created Woman'. She later starred in Jean-Luc Godard's 1963
cult film, 'Contempt'. Bardot was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best
Foreign Actress for her role in Louis Malle's 1965 film, 'Viva Maria!'.
Bardot caught the attention of French intellectuals. She was the
subject of Simone de Beauvoir's 1959 essay, 'The Lolita Syndrome',
which described Bardot as a 'locomotive of women's history' and built
upon existentialist themes to declare her the first and most liberated
woman of post-war France.
Bardot retired from the entertainment industry in 1973. During her
career in show business, she starred in 47 films, performed in numerous
musical shows, and recorded 80 songs. She was awarded the Legion
of Honour in 1985 but refused to receive it.
After her retirement, Bardot established herself as an animal rights
activist. During the 1990s she generated controversy by criticizing
immigration, Islamization and Islam in France, and has been fined
five times for 'inciting racial hatred.
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