Brigitte Bardot
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Biography
Brigitte Bardot, a French sex goddess of the 1950's, was the first foreign-language celebrity to achieve international success comparable to that of America's own stars such as Marilyn Monroe.
Brigitte Bardot was born in Paris on September 28, 1934. Her mother encouraged her to take up music and dancing, and by the time she was 15, she was modeling for the French magazine, Elle. Her next course of action was to try acting in films.
In 1952, when she was 18, she made her film debut in a small role in the comedy Trou normand, Le (Crazy for Love). After doing two more films with small roles that year, she married her first love, director Roger Vadim.
Following her success in French films, she worked in her first US production film in 1953 in Un acte d'amour (Act of Love) with Kirk Douglas. Though her role was minor, her wild sexuality bowled over the Americans. Her French films were also dubbed for her international fans and she acted in some English films. However, her heavy accent did not suit a shift to Hollywood. Her erotic personality and attire was scandalous in US and only acceptable when it was labeled as European.
In 1956, Bardot starred for the first time in the French film, La Lumiere d'en Face (The Light Across the Street). She soon had a string of hits that made her the top sex symbol in France.
In 1957, Vadim got the opportunity to direct Bardot in Et Dieu Crea la Femme (And God Created Woman). The film made Bardot an international star. However, her marriage to Vadim came to an end in 1957. Following this, she signed a reported $225,000 three-picture deal with Columbia. She next starred in Une Parisienne (1957), followed by Vadim's Les Bijoutiers du Clair de Lune (The Night Heaven Fell, 1958) and Babette s'en va-t-en Guerre (1959) opposite Jacques Charrier. She got married for the second time to Charrier and had a son, but the marriage lasted only three years.
Like Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot was also prone to depression and attempted suicide twice- the first time at the age of 15 when her parents did not allow her to marry Vadim and the second time on her 26th birthday in 1960. That year, La Verite was released and was a great hit in France but marked the end of her popularity in US and UK.
Brigette Bardot started dabbling in music and in 1960 released her first pop music album, Inside Brigitte Bardot. She recorded several hit singles with the infamous singer and songwriter Serge Gainsbourg and allegedly had an affair with him.
In 1962, Bardot worked in La Vie Privée (A Very Private Affair) that had an autobiographical touch to it. It was about a young celebrity unable to deal with the pressures of stardom. It was a commercial disaster and marked the end of Bardot's reign as Europe's most popular actress; Sophia Loren took over.
Bardot finally retired from films in 1974 at the age of 40 after working in notable films like Le Mépris (Contempt, 1963) Dear Brigitte (1964), Viva Maria! (1965), L'Ours et la Poupee (1970), Vadim's Don Juan 1973 ou Si Don Juan Etait une Femme. Her last film was 1974's L' Histoire Tres Bonne et Tres Joyeuse de Colinot Trousse Chemise, which failed commercially. After her retirement, she became an animal rights activist and headed "Fondation Brigitte Bardot", a foundation dedicated to animal rights.
In an interview on her 50th birthday, Bardot summed up her own life as "I have been very happy, very rich, very beautiful, much adulated, very famous and very unhappy."
Links
The Brigitte Bardot Homepage
Celebrity Wonder: Brigitte Bardot
Absolutely.net: Brigitte Bardot
A Tribute To Bardot
123celebs - Brigitte Bardot
Your relationships with Brigitte Bardot
CoolestMag.com : Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Bardot Picture Galleries
The Numbers - Brigitte Bardot
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