Brigitte Bardot

Table of Contents:
Begining of Bardot 3
Trademark BB 4
Proffessional Timeline 5
As a Sex Symbol 6
Lasting Influence 7
Bibliography 8

The
beginnings
of Bardot:
Brigitte was born in Paris, France on September 28, 1934. Her family was of upper middle-class status and was Roman Catholic observant. Her mother encouraged
her to begin exploring music and to take up dancing (which she proved to be very
skilled at). She danced from the ages of 5 to 13, and studied under the Russian choreographer Boris Knyazev for three years. By the age of 14 she began to develop an
interest in modeling. Because she was so beautiful, it was not difficult to get discovered. By the time she was 15 (March 8, 1950) she had already been featured in the
French magazine, ELLE. This is when Roger Vadim (a young screenwriter/film
director at the time, whom she marries in 1952) discovered her and helped kick start
her acting career.
She has been married a total of four times (Roger Vadim 1952-1957, Jacques Charrier 1959-1962, whom she had a child with, then came Gunter Sachs 1966-1969 and
finally she married Bernard dOrmale in 1992 and is still currently married to). In
1973, after starring and appearing in dozens of films and becoming an international celebrity (which she did not appreciate) she retired from acting and became an
animal rights activist (which is still her main occupation). She is also a breast cancer survivor (which she battled in the years of 1983 and 1984).

Trademark
BB

Brigitte Bardot had a huge hand

increating some of the most
iconic beauty/fashion trends.
Her main trade marks are:
1) Large, heavily
lined, doe eyes.
2) Known for
her voluptuous
figure

3) Credited
with
popularizing the
bikini
4) choucroute (sauerkraut) hairstyle (where the hair is curled
and pilled on top of the head
in an almost beehive fashion).

Proffessional
Timeline

Born 28 September
1934
Paris, France

Appeared in first movie

Crazy for Love
1952

March 8, 1950

Starred in ...And God

Created Women
(which launched her
carreer) 1956

Cover girl of Elle

Magazine
1960
Released first music
album Brigitte Bardot

Retires from Acting

1973

Stars in her final film

The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot
1973

1986
BB creates the Foundation for the Welfare and protection
of Animals
1989
Castrates a donkey
and gets sued.

Becomes animal
activist
1973
2003

Publishes Un Cri Dans

Le Silence for which
she came under fire
for Racial and homophobic slurs.

Present
Still kicking it in the
animal rights world.

l
o
b
m
y
S
Sex

Brigitte Bardot is wildly known

as one of the original sex symbols, not
only in her home country of France
but in the United States as well. In
particular, she was one of the first
women to wear the bikini. Described
as Frances most ogled export, (Michael Thornton for the Daily Mail.
2014, September 28), Bardot was fawned
over by men, the media and her fans.
She was even the object of affection
of young musicians John Lennon and
Paul McCartney and was known for her
many boyfriends and sexual exploits.
Although many admired her, she was
often criticized for her sexuality and
the fact that she was making money by
taking off her clothing in film. Being a
constantly ogled sex symbol and movie
star gained Bardot a lot of unwanted
attention from the media, the paparazzi
and obsessive fans. The pressure of the
relentless media and paparazzi attention
ultimately led her to a mental breakdown and suicide attempt in early 1958.
Although the attention she received due
to her appearance had negative impacts on her well being it also aided in
what is sometimes seen as a revolution
in womens sexuality. In a time where
womens sexuality was seen as taboo,
Brigitte changed the game for average
women who went to the cinema to see
her films and realized there was nothing wrong with showing off their bodies and expressing their sexuality.

Lasting
Influence
Although Brigitte Bardot retired from the
movie industry in 1973, she has had a lasting
impact in film, fashion and beauty and has
inspired current trends, celebrities and models.
Her infamous bouffant hairstyle and smokey,
cat-eye makeup has continued to be a sought
after trend for celebrities and women on a dayto-day basis. Her impact on the fashion industry was even greater, with her popularization
of the bikini, headscarves, and her signature
mini skirt and thigh high boots combination.
Jean-Claude Jitrois, who often styled Bardot,
described her classic style as chic-destroyed.
Karl Lagerfeld even called her the greatest
fashion icon ever. (Wynne, A. 2013, April 29).

Many fashion designers have created collections reminiscent of her beauty and fashion
style, including Diane Von Furstenbergs 2014
New York fashion week show, Chanels 2008
Pre-fall collection and Jean Paul Gaultiers
fall/ winter 2008/2009 collection. In 2013,
denim brand Seafarer, a Bardot favourite,
used archived photos of Bardot for the brands
relaunch campaign. There is even a line by
designer Sarah Ohana, simply called Brigitte
Bardot Clothing Collection, inspired by her
style. The clothing line launched in 2012 after
Bardot agreed to sell them the license to her

name and image, under the conditions that

the line would feature no leather or fur.

Bardot has also had an impact on
models, actresses and sex symbols of the
present. Current models that have been
compared and inspired by Bardot include
Gisele Bundchen, Kate Moss, Lara Stone
and Laetitia Casta, who played Bardot in
the 2010 film: Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life,
which centers on the life of musician Serge
Gainsbourg, one of Bardots many lovers.
One of Bardots most important achievements however is her animal rights activism. After her retirement in 1973, Bardot
used her status to promote the proper treatment of animals and founded her charity,
Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Welfare
and Protection of Animals. Although Bardots celebrity status was short lived, and
tragic at times, she made a huge impact on
pop culture and remains to this day a wellknown film, beauty and fashion icon.

Works Cited
Werle, S. (2009). Fashionista: A Century of Style Icons (2nd ed., p. 173). Prestel.
Brigitte Bardot Documentary 2014. (n.d.). Retrieved September 23, 2015.
Michael Thornton for the Daily Mail. (2014, September 28). The woman who invented sex: As Brigitte Bardot
turns 80, a writer who witnessed her naked magnetism says she electrified a black and white age with sheer sensuality . Retrieved September 27, 2015.
French Icon Brigitte Bardot is turning 80! - Frenchitude.net | Exclusively French. (2014, September 27). Retrieved September 27, 2015.
Brigitte Bardots impact on fashion & people. (2010, December 9). Retrieved September 27, 2015, from https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=koPP4hAdDSE
Sfarr, J. (Director). (2010). Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life [Motion picture]. France: Universal Pictures.
Wynne, A. (2013, April 29). Brigitte Bardots Fashion Influence. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
La Fondation Brigitte Bardot - Fondation pour la protection animale. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2015.
Swinging Sixties... (2012, March 9). Retrieved September 29, 2015.
15 Iconic Celebrity Swimsuit Looks. (2013, August 8). Retrieved September 29, 2015.
Brigitte Bardot Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2015, from http://www.biography.com/people/brigitte-bardot-9198860
(n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2015, from http://spanish.fansshare.com/gallery/photos/13224357/full-brigitte-bardot-wallpaper/
Initales B.B. (autobiography, Grasset & Fasquelle, 1996)
BRIGITTE BARDOT Bio - Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2015.
Brigitte Bardot. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2015, from http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000003/