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One of the most iconic sex symbols of the mid-20th Century, Brigitte Bardot would ultimately lead a relatively short career, debuting in 1952 and retiring just twenty one years later in 1973, but in her short time in the entertainment industry she would leave an immense footprint. Bardot stands today as one of the archetypal film beauties for her work playing hedonistic, liberated women in European and American productions.

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"When I love, I do it without counting. I give myself entirely. And each time, it is the grand love of my life."

A Rebellious Youth

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Born September 28, 1934 in Paris France, Brigitte's parents, Anne-Marie Mucel, and Louis Bardot, an engineer and proprietor of a number of industrial factories throughout the city. As is often the case with free-spirited youths, Bardot's life would stand in stark contrast to her upbringing. Growing up in an extremely conservative Catholic family, Bardot would follow strict standards of manner and dress, her mother would dictate who she could spend time with as a child, and her father was something of a cruel disciplinarian. She would spend much of her youth indoors, owing to the Nazi occupation of Paris, and would spend her time listening to phonograph records, falling in love with music and ballet.

Bardot's love of music would lead to her being admitted to the Cours Hattemer school of dance at seven years old, attending for three days a week. From here she would move on to the Conservatoire de Paris in 1949, where she studied with Russian dance instructor and choreographer Boris Knyazev. While growing up in Paris she attended the private Catholic high school Institut de la Tour. Before she could even think of a secondary education, however, her career as a sex symbol would kick into high gear.

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"I'm a girl from a good family who was very well brought up. One day I turned my back on it all and became a bohemian."

Bardot was scouted by Helene Gordon-Lazareff as a junior fashion model and would appear on the cover of Elle in 1950 at fifteen years old. This would lead to her auditioning for a part in a small French film. She did not get the role, but did meet Roger Vadim, whom she would marry at eighteen and with whom she would remain until 1958. In 1952, now eighteen, she would feature again on the cover of Elle magazine, which would win her a part in the comedy film Crazy for Love (1952) directed by Jean Boyer. Her role was a small one and she would be paid 200,000 francs for her work, but it set her on the road to stardom.

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She would go on to feature in Manina, the Girl in the Bikini (1953), as well as a few other bit parts, before working with Kirk Douglas in Act of Love (1953), a film shot in Paris and financed by Hollywood producers. Bardot's role was small, but would take her to the 1953 Cannes Film Festival, where she would be photographed wearing a floral two piece bathing suit, and given considerable attention in contrast to a fairly small part in the film.

"Now, if there was one woman in the world who didn't need publicity, who always had too much publicity, it was me."

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A few more small roles would follow, and Bardot would finally become a leading lady in Doctor at Sea (1955), co-starring with Dirk Bogarde in Britain's third most popular film of the year. The Brigitte Bardot we know today is the free-spirited blonde bombshell, and the natural brunette would unveil this image in the Italian film Mio figlio Nerone (1956). Asked by the director to wear a blonde wig, Bardot instead chose to dye her hair. The look suited her, and she has worn it ever since.

While Bardot's film career stretched over only twenty-one years, it was a very busy twenty-one years. After going blonde, Bardot would feature in a number of high profile movies including Naughty Girl (1956), playing a rebellious young student, Plucking the Daisy (1956), a comedy written by her husband, and her husband's directorial debut And God Created Woman (1956). By the end of the 1950's Bardot had truly become an icon, as visible a sex symbol as any of her time.

Hollywood and the Recording Industry

At the start of the 1960's, Brigitte Bardot's body of work had primarily been produced in the European film scene. Into the next decade she would put more focus on the international market, featuring in the Hollywood film Dear Brigitte (1965) with Jimmy Stewart, and working with Sean Connery in the western film Shalako (1968). Incidentally, her work in Hollywood would turn out to be less successful, on average, than her European work. Audiences were attracted to the more sensual approach of French and Italian films, and for many of her fans, the relatively tame approach of Hollywood would serve only to disappoint. However, she did enjoy some success as a singer at this time, featuring in a number of musical shows and eventually recording a popular French cover of Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" (1973).

Rather than pivot her career or cling to her past success, Bardot was happy to retire on her own terms. She chose to retire in 1973 after working with Vadim, with whom she remained on friendly terms following their divorce, one more time. They would collaborate on the film Don Juan (1973), an attempt to demythologize the iconography of the cinematic sex symbol. The film was not the most successful of Bardot's career, but stands as an ambitious artistic expression for the actress. Her final movie would be The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot (1973), and since then she has shown no interest in returning to film.

Since then, Bardot has worked primarily as an animal rights activist, becoming a vegetarian and founding the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Welfare and Protection of Animals in 1986. Today, Bardot is quite comfortable with the decisions she has made in her life. Happy to leave stardom behind, and generally indifferent to anxieties regarding aging.

"What could be more beautiful than a dear old lady growing wise with age? Every age can be enchanting, provided you live within it."