Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Bardot, born on September 28, 1934, in Paris, is a renowned French actress, singer, and model who became an iconic figure of sexual liberation in the mid-20th century. Starting her career in modeling at a young age, she transitioned to acting with significant success, particularly after her role in the 1956 film "And God Created Woman," which cemented her status as a global symbol of sexuality. Despite some early setbacks, including the film being banned in France, Bardot's captivating blend of innocence and sensuality resonated with audiences, especially in America during the conservative 1950s. She received critical acclaim for various performances throughout the 1960s, notably in "La Vérité" and "Contempt," and won awards for her work. Bardot also ventured into music, collaborating with prominent artists like Serge Gainsbourg. After retiring from film in 1973, she shifted her focus to animal rights activism, becoming a vocal advocate for animal welfare. Bardot's legacy is intertwined with the sexual revolution, paving the way for greater acceptance of female sexuality in cinema and beyond.
Brigitte Bardot
- Born: September 28, 1934
- Birthplace: Paris, France
Brigitte Bardot personified sensuality and sexual freedom to repressed, straight-laced American movie audiences.
Brigitte Bardot was born in Paris on September 28, 1934, to an upper middle-class family. Starting at age seven, she attended private school only three days a week, making time for intensive dance lessons. In 1947, she was accepted to the Conservatoire de Paris, where she studied ballet. Encouraged by a friend of her mother's, however, she began to look instead at a career in modeling, appearing in a fashion show and in the magazine Jardin des Modes in 1949. In 1950, at the age of fifteen, she posed for the cover of Elle magazine. The picture attracted the attention of director and producer Roger Vadim, who eventually married her and cast her in And God Created Woman in 1956, a film that created an international sensation. Although she had appeared in fifteen films previously, Bardot’s semi-nude scenes and implied wild sexual episodes in this film made her an international icon. Although the film was actually banned in France and lost money, it forever made the actor synonymous with sex, and she became known to the world simply as “Bardot,” or “BB.” Her combination of innocence and kittenish sexuality fascinated repressed American filmgoers of the 1950s. (In fact, the term "sex kitten" was coined to refer to Bardot.)
In 1960 Bardot departed from her usual comedies and racy melodramas to star in La Vérité (The Truth), a courtroom drama. The film's production was troubled, culminating in a suicide attempt by Bardot two months before the film's release, but the film itself was well received by both critics and the public. It was Bardot's biggest commercial success in France and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.
Bardot continued making films throughout the 1960s. In 1962 she won a David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress for her role in Vie privée (A Very Private Affair), directed by Louis Malle. Her role in Jean-Luc Goddard's Contempt(1963) is widely considered one of her best performances. In 1964 she starred opposite Anthony Perkins in the spy comedy Une ravissante idiote (The Ravishing Idiot). She played herself in Dear Brigitte (1965), starring Jimmy Stewart. For her role in Viva María! (1965), also directed by Malle, she was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Foreign Actress. She also had a singing career, recording five albums during the 1960s and frequently collaborating with French pop music giant Serge Gainsbourg. She retired from films in 1973, after a series of box office disappointments, and subsequently devoted herself to the cause of animal rights.
Impact
Bardot paved the way for a new sexual freedom and candor in American cinema, encouraged a growing acceptance of female sexuality, and was an early precursor of the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s.
Bibliography
Beauvoir, Simone de. Brigitte Bardot and the Lolita Syndrome. New York: Reynal, 1960.
Holmes, Diana. "'A Girl of Today': Brigitte Bardot." Stardom in Postwar France, edited by John Gaffney and Diana Holmes, Berghahn Books, 2007, pp. 40–66.
Poirier, Agnès. "Brigitte Bardot at 80: Still Outrageous, Outspoken and Controversial." The Guardian, 20 Sept. 2014, www.theguardian.com/film/2014/sep/20/brigitte-bardot-at-80-still-outrageous-outspoken. Accessed 4 Apr. 2018.
Robinson, Jeffrey. Bardot: An Intimate Portrait. New York: D. I. Fine, 1994.
Singer, Barnett. Brigitte Bardot: A Biography. McFarland, 2006.