Brigitte Bardot—the French screen legend whose early stardom helped define a new era of European cinema, and whose later life became inseparable from animal-rights campaigning—has died aged 91. She passed away on 28 December 2025 at her home, La Madrague, in Saint-Tropez, according to reporting by Le Monde and Euronews. A funeral service in the town on 7 January 2026 drew mourners and renewed debate about a legacy that mixed cultural liberation, fierce advocacy, and lasting controversy, as described by Euronews and Le Monde.
From post-war France to a global symbol
Bardot rose to international fame in the 1950s, becoming one of France’s most recognisable exports at a moment when European culture was breaking with old codes. On screen, she embodied a new frankness—youthful, modern, and unafraid of scandal—that many admirers saw as part of a wider shift in attitudes to women, desire, and celebrity.
Saint-Tropez, long intertwined with her public image, was not just a backdrop to that mythology but also her chosen refuge. The same Mediterranean light that drew photographers and filmmakers eventually became the private horizon of her later years—far from film sets, but never far from headlines. (For a lighter internal reference to the region’s enduring pull, see: European Beach Escapes: the best coastal destinations.)
The activist years: a life re-anchored around animals
In 1973, Bardot stepped away from acting. What followed was not a quiet retirement but a second public life built around animal welfare. Over decades, she became one of Europe’s most high-profile advocates, using her fame to pressure governments, mobilise donors, and keep issues such as cruelty, hunting, and industrial practices in the public conversation.
Her flagship vehicle became the Fondation Brigitte Bardot, which campaigns and funds animal protection work in France and internationally. The foundation is also listed among the members of Eurogroup for Animals, the Brussels-based umbrella network advocating for animal welfare at EU level.
Supporters say her campaigning helped normalise animal protection as a mainstream political concern rather than a niche cause. Critics argue her methods could be confrontational, and that her celebrity sometimes overshadowed the wider movement. Yet even opponents have acknowledged the force of her visibility: when Bardot spoke about animals, France listened—sometimes with admiration, sometimes with fatigue, often with argument.
A complicated public voice
Any account of Bardot’s life must also confront the disputes that followed her beyond cinema. In later decades, her political positions—and repeated legal convictions in France related to discriminatory or hateful statements—deeply polarised public opinion, a complexity noted in major retrospectives including Le Monde and funeral coverage such as Euronews.
This tension—between the causes she championed and the rhetoric that drew condemnation—has shaped the way France marks her death: with recognition of cultural impact and campaigning, alongside a refusal by many to separate legacy from accountability.
Saint-Tropez says goodbye
On 7 January, Saint-Tropez gathered for her funeral service at the Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption church, before her burial locally, according to Euronews. The ceremony, reported as private in tone but closely watched, brought together those who knew her personally, figures from French public life, and residents who remembered how deeply her name became woven into the town’s modern identity.
In the end, Bardot’s story remains distinctly European: a post-war rise to stardom, an enduring conversation about women and fame, and a civic landscape where cultural icons are remembered not only for what they created, but also for what they defended—and what they damaged.
