Sunday, 28 September 2014 Brigitte Bardot (09/28/1934 – )Brigitte Bardot is a French dancer, model and actress who became an international icon in the 1950s and 60s with films like And God Created Women and Contempt. Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot was born on September 28, 1934 in Paris, France. She studied ballet as a teenager at the National Superior Conservatory of Paris for Music and Dance and appeared on the cover of Frances Elle magazine at the age of 15. She was discovered by screenwriter and future filmmaker Roger Vadim, and the two wed in 1952. Brigitte Bardot and Vadim divorced in 1957, but maintained a professional relationship, as he directed her 1958 film The Night Heaven Fell. Bardot was featured in other projects as well like The Parisienne , La Femme et le Pantin, and Come Dance With Me (1959). During the making of the 1960 film La Verité, however, Bardot attempted suicide on her 26th birthday. Decades later the actress would talk about how nightmarish the world of celebrity had become and the pressures inherent in constantly aiming to display a certain image. In the late 1950s, Bardot married actor Jacques Charrier, by whom she had a son, her only child. The couple divorced in 1962. Bardot then married Germany millionaire playboy Gunter Sachs in 1966, divorcing three years later. Years later, in 1992, she wed extreme right-wing political aide Bernard dOrmale. During the 1960s, Bardot embarked on a career as a musical artist as well, releasing albums like Brigitte Bardot Sings (1960) and Special Bardot (1968). She also recorded hits with French vocalist/songwriter/lounge-man Serge Gainsbourg. Her big-screen work continued in the comedy Dear Brigitte (1965), in which the tween son of a professor, played by Jimmy Stewart, gets to meet the cinematic object of his affection. Bardots beauty was further immortalized in the form of famous French sculpture Marianne, unveiled in 1970 and modeled. Having appeared in dozens of films, Bardot retired in 1973 and went to live in St. Tropez. Bardot turned from moviemaking to her love of animals, and established the Foundation for the Protection of Distressed Animals in the mid-1970s. In the mid-80s she also founded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Welfare and Protection of Animals. Her work has led to the Council of Europe banning the importation of seal fur and the French government banning ivory imports. Bardot has also had to appear before the French courts over the years, being fined more than once for making anti-Muslim, discriminatory comments. Bardot quote: “I gave my beauty and my youth to men. I am going to give my wisdom and experience to animals. Pictured: Bardot long ago, A more recent Bardot.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 05:15:28 +0000