Brigitte Bardot, Screen Icon and Ardent Animal Rights Advocate, Dies at 91

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Brigitte Bardot, the French actress whose unabashed sensuality redefined the global archetype of the film star before she abruptly left the screen to devote her life to animal welfare, died on Sunday, December 28, 2025. She was 91.

Her death was reported by the French newspaper Le Figaro, which described her as a "national treasure" who had inspired fiery passions throughout her life. Known universally by her initials, B.B., Bardot was a figure of profound cultural impact, evolving from a sex symbol who scandalized and captivated the world in the 1950s and 60s into a fervent, sometimes controversial, crusader for the protection of animals.

Bardot’s passing marks the end of an era for French cinema and the loss of a personality who, as Le Figaro noted, was "enshrined as Marianne"—the national symbol of the French Republic—and celebrated by filmmakers such as Roger Vadim, Jean-Luc Godard, and Henri-Georges Clouzot. Yet, in interviews conducted years prior to her death, Bardot consistently downplayed her cinematic legacy in favor of her activism.

In a candid 2009 conversation with the writer and journalist Henry-Jean Servat, republished by Le Figaro on Sunday, Bardot reflected on her life with characteristic bluntness. When asked to describe herself, she chose the word "rebel."

"I am a rebel. I am still a rebel," she told Servat. "I am in revolt against the permanent injustices that reign on earth, against the human and animal miseries that the leaders of our country fail to eradicate."

A Reluctant Star

Born in Paris in 1934, Bardot exploded onto the international scene with the 1956 film And God Created Woman, directed by her then-husband Roger Vadim. The film, which showcased her uninhibited sexuality, challenged the conservative mores of the time and established her as a global phenomenon. However, Bardot insisted she never sought fame.

"I didn't seek to obtain glory at all costs," she said in the 2009 interview. "Luck or destiny meant that, at a certain moment, I was what I was at the moment when one needed to be it and when I wasn't looking for it."

Despite her immense success, Bardot harbored a complex relationship with her acting career. "I was not an actress. I am not an actress in the slightest," she asserted. "I simply played what I was asked to interpret. And I wished to do it well. So I gave the best of myself, sometimes to the point of physical and moral exhaustion."

She famously retired from acting in 1973, at the height of her fame, to focus entirely on animal rights. Looking back, she credited this shift with saving her life. "Cinema helped me get there," she acknowledged. "But it was subsequently the love of animals that kept me alive. Often, I realize that if I hadn't taken care of animals, I would have done myself in, as both Marilyn and Romy did," referring to Marilyn Monroe and Romy Schneider.

The "Party of Animals"

For the last half-century of her life, Bardot was defined by her activism. She founded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation in 1986, using her fame and personal resources to campaign against animal cruelty. Her battles ranged from protesting the slaughter of seals to advocating for the humane treatment of livestock.

"I use my name to fight," she said. Her commitment was absolute and often confrontational. "I spend my time, through what I read, what I see, what I hear, living in pain, in blood, in death," she told Le Figaro. "I cannot stand that human beings, supposedly my fellows, don't give a damn about animal suffering."

Her outspoken nature frequently drew criticism. Bardot faced legal challenges and public backlash in France for comments regarding immigration and Islam, often framed within her animal rights advocacy, such as her condemnation of ritual slaughter practices. When asked about her controversial stances, she remained defiant.

"I have never taken political positions. I have never been part of a party," she maintained. "Me, I am of only one party, that of animals, animals martyred, despised, beaten, tortured."

She expressed frustration with what she viewed as the barbaric treatment of animals in modern society. "I do not understand why the leaders of my country fail to impose prior stunning on these unfortunate animals whose throats are slit before a long and slow agony," she said, referring to ritual slaughter. "I know my fight is just."

"I Regret Nothing"

Bardot lived her later years in seclusion in Saint-Tropez, surrounded by the animals she saved. Despite the physical ailments of age—she mentioned using canes in her 2009 interview—she continued to work daily for her foundation. "I have a strength that never leaves me," she said.

Reflecting on her public image, she rejected the label of being "scandalous." "I was simply what I wanted to be," she said. "I was only natural and true."

She expressed pride in her resilience against public scrutiny. "If there are people who don't like me or who mock me, I, for my part, feel responsible for thousands, for thousands of little lives that I take charge of," she said. She also noted the support she received from around the world, which she said "holds me up and prevents me from falling."

Ultimately, Bardot viewed her life not through the lens of her filmography, which she claimed not to watch, but through the impact of her activism. "Everything I say or do exists only in relation to the animal cause. I think I have never done anything else," she said.

When asked if she had regrets, her answer was definitive. "I never pretended. I regret nothing. I was there. I still am."

With her passing, France loses one of its most recognizable figures, a woman who embodied a specific era of liberation before channeling that same ferocity into a lifelong crusade for the voiceless.