Brigitte Bardot's Life in Photos
Brigitte Bardot's Life in Photos
"A photograph can be an instant of life captured for eternity that will never cease looking back at you," Brigitte Bardot once said. Bardot no doubt has several instants of her life that seem immortalized forever. But beyond the iconic images of her sporting perfectly tousled updos on the red carpet or nautical striped shirts in St. Tropez, there's a whole catalog of less widely known, rarer Bardot photos, too. Here, take a tour of the career and personal life of the French actress, singer, model, and style icon.
1940: A Young Brigitte Bardot
Born into a wealthy and conservative Parisian family in 1934, Bardot was raised in the 16th arrondissement of the city.
1946: A Life in Dance
Bardot's mother encouraged her to take up dance and by the time she was 13, she was admitted to the prestigious Conservatoire de Paris to train under Russian choreographer Boris Knyazev.
1950: A Modeling Career
When Bardot was 15 years old, she began to explore a career in modeling. She appeared on the cover of Elle in 1950 and again later in 1952, both of which brought perspective acting roles.
1952: Her First Film
Bardot appeared in her first feature film in 1952 as Javotte Lemoine in Le Trou Normand (English title: Crazy for Love). The film was a comedy, featuring French actor Andre Bourvil.
1952: Getting Married
Bardot was working as a model when she met French director Roger Vadim. The two waited until she was 18 years old to marry (Vadim was 24). The couple had a church ceremony in Paris on December 20, 1952.
1952: Life at Home
The newlyweds are seen embracing as a photographer visits the couple's apartment in Paris.
1953: A Big Film
Bardot looks every inch the glamorous film star as she makes her way through the crowds at the Cannes Film Festival in 1953, where she was promoting her first American film, Act of Love.
1953: Friendly Co-stars
Kirk Douglas, Bardot's Act of Love co-star, is seen chatting with the French actress on the beach in Cannes.
1954: Gaining Different Roles
Bardot continued to earn roles in romantic comedies, but in 1954 the actress branched out with a French adventure movie, Caroline and the Rebels, and an Italian melodrama, Concert of Intrigue.
1955: A Big Role
Bardot landed a coveted role as the handmaiden, Andraste, in Helen of Troy. Here, the actress is seen attempting to push the wheel of the Trojan horse on set.
1955: 'Doctor at Sea'
Bardot is seen on the set of Doctor at Sea while filming in London, England. The film was one of the first non-French films she was in after Act of Love.
1956: Her Breakthrough Role
Bardot had been appearing in prominent films since her film debut, but her role in her husband's directorial debut, And God Created Woman, was what ultimately launched her international film career to new heights.
1956: Becoming a Movie Star
After her role in And God Created Woman, Bardot could hardly walk down the street without being recognized. The sexually explicit movie gained her and her husband director Roger Vadim fame and notoriety.
1956: The Sex Kitten
By 1956, the French actress started garnering more and more attention (especially across the Atlantic) and the term sex kitten was coined to describe her sultry looks.
1956: On Set Again
Bardot looks relaxed in a striped t-shirt and jeans while on location filming La mariée est trop belle (The Bride is Too Beautiful).
1957: Splitting Up
After five years of marriage, Bardot and Vadim divorced in 1957. However, the couple remained professionally tied to one another, as Vadim directed Bardot in the 1958 film The Night Heaven Fell.
1957: Filming 'The Parisienne'
Bardot traveled to New York in 1957 to film the romantic comedy, The Parisienne.
1958: A New Love
After her divorce from Vadim, Bardot was linked to French singer Sacha Distel. Here, the couple attends the 19th Venice International Film Festival in 1958. Sadly, they broke up the following year.
1958: 'The Woman'
Bardot traveled to Sevilla, Spain to film La Femme et le Pantin, which was released in the United States as The Woman. Here, the actress is seen at a flamenco show in Spain.
1959: Another French Film
Although the demand for Bardot's films in the U.S. were high, the actress appeared in more French than American films. Here she is on set of the film Voulez-Vous Danser Avec Moi? It was released in America as Come Dance With Me.
1959: A Second Marriage
Bardot wore a light pink gingham dress to marry her second husband and co-star in Babette Goes to War, Jacques Charrier, in 1959. The couple got married at the registrar office in Louveciennes, France on July 18, 1959 and were married until 1962.
1960: A Baby Boy
Shortly after they married, Bardot welcomed her first and only child. Their son, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier, was born on January 11, 1960 in Paris, France.
1960: Back to Work
The actress didn't skip a beat with her filming schedule after welcoming her son. By March, the actress was already filming with co-star Sami Frey for La Vérité (The Truth).
1961: Press Attention
The actress was constantly hounded by paparazzi and press, even though she reportedly didn't care for it. Here, she's in Italy promoting A Very Private Affair as hoards of cameras follow her through the streets of Spoleto, Umbria.
1963: More Than Just an Actress
Throughout the '60s, Bardot remained one of the world's most well-known sex icons, both on screen and off. In 1965, she appeared in Dear Brigitte as herself.
1963: Returning to Music
Bardot released several records throughout the '60s and '70s and collaborated on an album with Serge Gainsbourg in 1968.
1965: 'Viva Maria'
Bardot dons a giant sombrero as she returns home from Mexico, where she filmed Viva Maria! in 1965.
1966: Getting Married Again
Bardot's third marriage was to German playboy, Gunter Sachs. Sachs wooed the French beauty by arranging to have hundreds of rose petals dropped by helicopter over her St. Tropez property. "It's not every day a man drops a ton of roses in your backyard," Bardot wrote in her autobiography, Initiales B.B: Me?mories. The couple married on July 14, 1966 in Las Vegas.
1967: Cast and Crew
Bardot, seen in a brunette wig, enjoys an al fresco lunch with the crew and her co-stars on the set of Tre passi nel delirio (Spirits of the Dead) in Rome.
1967: A Casual Style
Bardot arrives barefoot to the glitzy Parisian restaurant Maxim's for a 100-person dinner thrown by her husband in her honor.
1968: 'Shalako'
Bardot is seen riding horseback on the set of Shalako, which was filmed in the foothills of Spain in 1968.
1968: Escaping to St. Tropez
Bardot frequents St. Tropez and bought her secluded property, the Madrague, in the French beach town in 1958.
1969: Getting Divorced
Bardot and Sachs divorced in 1969 after three years of marriage. However, the couple remained friends until his death in 2011.
1971: A New Love
Bardot had a string of relationships following her divorce from Sachs. The first was with ski instructor Christian Kalt. Here the two are seen walking arm in arm in St. Tropez in April 1971.
1973: A Return to Film
Bardot appeared in a number of films in 1973, including her ex-husband Roger Vadim's film, Don Juan (Or If Don Juan Was a Woman).
1973: Her Final Film
Bardot appeared in her final film in 1973, The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot. And just like that, at the age of 39, the French actress gracefully retired.
1975: Retired in St. Tropez
Bardot continued to live on her St. Tropez estate post-retirement. Here, she's seen with sculptor Miroslav Brozek, who she was in a relationship with from 1975 to 1979.
1980: A New Career
Always an animal lover (at one point Bardot had nearly 50 pets in St. Tropez), the former actress turned her attention to animal activism. In 1986, she formed the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which is an animal welfare organization that rescues animals and lobbies for animal-safe policies.
1992: Her Fourth Marriage
In 1992, Bardot married for the fourth time to far right French political aide Bernard d'Ormale. They're still married to this day.
1992: Saving Lives
In 1992, Bardot's organization gained the classification of a French public utility.
Rare photos of the French style icon like you haven't seen before.