French actress turned animal activist Brigitte Bardot dies aged 91

Actress was a defining figure of French cinema before she turned to activism

Brigitte Bardot speaks to the Hollywood press in December 1965 for the film "Viva Maria". The legendary French actress has died at the age of 91. AFP

Brigitte Bardot, the famous French actress who became a global symbol of liberation in the 1950s and 1960s before transitioning into an animal rights activism, has died aged 91.

The Brigitte Bardot Foundation announced her passing on Sunday, expressing "immense sadness" at the loss of its founder and president. According to a statement released to AFP, Bardot passed away at her home in southern France. While an official cause of death has not been disclosed, she had been hospitalised earlier in 2025 for a "sudden illness" and surgery related to respiratory issues.

Born in Paris in 1934, Bardot shot to international superstardom with the 1956 film And God Created Woman, directed by her first husband, Roger Vadim. Over a career spanning about 50 films, she became one of France’s most recognisable cultural exports.

In a move that surprised the industry, Bardot retired from acting in 1973 at the height of her fame and dedicated herself to animal welfare. She founded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation in 1986 and spent decades campaigning against seal hunting, factory farming and animal cruelty.

Former French actress Brigitte Bardot displays a 1969 copy of French magazine Paris Match showing a seal on the cover in 2005. Reuters

In later years, Bardot became a polarising public figure because of her outspoken and often controversial political views, which led to several convictions in France for inciting racial hatred. Despite that controversy, she remained committed to animal advocacy, living a largely private life at her Saint-Tropez estate, La Madrague, surrounded by the animals she spent her final decades protecting.