Brigitte Bardot, sex goddess of cinema, has died

"Stylish and seductive, Bardot exuded a kind of free sexuality, rare in the buttoned-up 1950s. She modeled, made movies, influenced fashion around the world and recorded albums. She married four times. Her list of lovers famously included Warren Beatty, Nino Ferrer and singer-songwriter-producer Serge Gainsbourg, with whom she recorded the French hit Bonnie and Clyde. Bardot's look was copied by women around the world, says Claire Schub who teaches French literature and film at Tufts University."

"But her image changed in her later years. Bardot was found guilty multiple times in her native France of "inciting racial hatred," mainly for comments attacking Muslims. As an actor, Bardot worked with some of France's leading directors including Henri-Georges Clouzot in La Verite (The Truth), Jean-Luc Godard in Le Mepris (Contempt) and Louis Malle in Viva Maria! Born Catholic to an upper-middle-class couple in Paris in 1934, Bardot studied ballet and modeled before becoming an actor."

"As a teenager, she appeared several times on the cover of Elle magazine, attracting the attention of Roger Vadim who was six years her senior. The two married in 1952. Bardot's parents made them wait until she turned 18. Vadim, an aspiring director, has been credited with turning Bardot into the iconic sex symbol she became. In his 1957 film And God Created Woman, Bardot plays a provocative young woman on a quest for sexual liberation."

Brigitte Bardot rose to international fame as a sex symbol and influential cultural figure during the 1950s and 1960s. She modeled, recorded albums, and starred in films by major French directors, shaping fashion and attitudes toward sexuality. Personal life included four marriages and high-profile relationships, notably with Roger Vadim and Serge Gainsbourg. Later life combined animal-rights activism with legal controversies, including convictions for statements deemed to incite racial hatred aimed at Muslims. Bardot was born in Paris in 1934, studied ballet, transitioned from modeling to acting as a teenager, and maintained a lasting public profile.

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