Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot (born September 28, 1934 in Paris) is a French former actress/singer/model, sex symbol and activist.
Bardot was very popular in her time, and still is an icon comparable to Marilyn Monroe in France. She was one of the few European actresses to receive attention in America back in her day, although her poor English skills ultimately limited her contact with Hollywood (not that she was particularly interested in working there). Bardot is also one of the few people whose initials were once enough to identify them; if you said B.B. in the '50s and '60s, everyone knew you were referring to her. The turning point for her is undeniably And God Created Woman in 1956.
She's had numerous love affairs. The most prominent included director Roger Vadim (And God Created Woman), actor Jean-Louis Trintignant, as well as singers Serge Gainsbourg, Gilbert Bécaud and Sacha Distel. She retired from acting in 1973 and chose to use her fame to promote animal rights since, and sometimes dabbles in writing politically-flavoured non-fiction.
Her younger sister Marie-Jeanne "Mijanou" Bardot also became an actress for a time, and also retired from her acting career in The '70s.
Selected filmography:
- Le Trou Normandnote (1952) - First credited film.
- Doctor at Sea (1955) as Helene Colbert
- School for Love (1955) as Sophie Dimater
- Helen of Troy (1956) as Andraste
- Her Bridal Night (1956) as Catherine Ravaud / Chouchou
- That Naughty Girl (1956) as Brigitte Latour
- Plucking the Daisy (1956) as Agnès Dumont
- And God Created Woman (1956) as Juliette Hardy (Star-Making Role)
- La Parisienne (1957) as Brigitte Laurier
- Love Is My Profession (1958) as Yvette Maudet
- The Female (1958) as Éva Marchand
- The Night Heaven Fell (1958) as Ursula Desfontaines
- Babette Goes to War (1959) as Babette
- Come Dance with Me! (1959) as Virginie Dandieu
- The Truth (1960) as Dominique Marceau. Nominated for an Oscar (Best Foreign Film). Regarded by fans as one of her best performances, with a little help from Enforced Method Acting invoked by the director consisting of psychologically abusing her during shooting.
- Please, Not Now! (1961) as Sophie
- A Very Private Affair (1962) as Jill (notable for basing itself in elements of Bardot's life)
- Love on a Pillow (1962) as Geneviève Le Theil
- Contempt (1963) as Camille Javal
- Dear Brigitte (1965) - A Hollywood film where she appears as herself (uncredited) in a short sequence.
- Viva Maria! (1965) as one of the Marias (the other being played by Jeanne Moreau)
- Masculin Féminin (1966) as herself
- Two Weeks in September (1967) as Cécile
- Shalako (1968) as Countess Irina Lazaar (co-stars with Sean Connery)
- Spirits of the Dead (1968) as Giuseppina
- Les Femmes (1969) as Clara
- The Bear and the Doll (1970) as Felicia
- The Novices (1970) as Agnes
- The Legend of Frenchie King (1971) as Louise/Frenchie King (co-stars with Claudia Cardinale)
- Rum Runners (1971) as Linda Larue
- Don Juan, or If Don Juan Were a Woman (1973) as Jeanne (last starring role)
- The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot (1973) as Arabelle (last film)
Tropes & Trivia about her career:
- Creator's Favorite Episode: Of the movies she was in, her favorites are And God Created Woman, The Truth and The Bear and the Doll.
- What Could Have Been:
- Her very first movie could have been something called Les Lauriers Sont Coupés ("The Laurels Are Cut") in 1950, but the project was cancelled.
- The list of movies she was reportedly considered for includes: The Longest Day, The Pink Panther (1963), Cleopatra, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The Young Girls of Rochefort, Luchino Visconti's adaptation of The Stranger, Barbarella, The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), Casino Royale (1967), On Her Majesty's Secret Service and The Conformist.
- When Visconti was pondering adapting Marcel Proust's À la recherche des temps perdu, he envisioned Bardot in the role of Odette de Crécy, but the project never got off the ground.
- A version of The Three Musketeers starring The Beatles was proposed with Bardot in the role of Milady de Winter.
- A role she was very keen on getting was Marion Vergano of Mississippi Mermaid and she was furious when François Truffaut cast Catherine Deneuve instead (although Jean-Paul Belmondo later claimed Bardot was not cast because she was unavailable).
- In 1975, there were talks of casting her in an adaptation of Albert Cohen's novel Belle du Seigneur, which she was somewhat enthusiastic about, but it never got made.
