Brigitte Bardot — tribute concerts

Brigitte Bardot, also known by the initials “BB”, born on 28 September 1934 in Paris 15e and died on 28 December 2025 in Saint-Tropez (Var), is a French actress, singer, and animal rights activist.

With 46 films and over 70 songs to her credit, she is among the most famous French artists in the world. After ending her artistic career in 1973, she dedicated herself primarily to defending the animal cause.

Coming from a bourgeois background, she began classical dance training at a very young age, a discipline that shaped her future acting style. She started as a model and appeared several times on the cover of Elle magazine from 1949. She was noticed the same year by director Marc Allégret and his assistant Roger Vadim.

In 1952, at the age of eighteen, she was the subject of a long article in Paris Match. She achieved international fame in 1956 with Roger Vadim's film Et Dieu… créa la femme, where she appeared nude for the first time. She then starred in numerous successful films, collaborating with major directors such as Christian-Jaque (Babette s'en va-t-en guerre), Henri-Georges Clouzot (La Vérité), Louis Malle (Vie privée, Viva Maria !) and Jean-Luc Godard (Le Mépris).

A major figure in cinema from the 1950s to the 1970s, Brigitte Bardot was an international star, muse and icon for many artists of her time. She played characters combining lightness, sensuality, and modernity.

Considered a symbol of female emancipation and sexual freedom, she often embodied independent, nonconformist, or seductive women.

Alongside her film career, Brigitte Bardot pursued a singing career and recorded several popular songs, including La Madrague and Harley Davidson, the latter written by Serge Gainsbourg.

In 1973, Brigitte Bardot ended her acting career to devote herself to animal welfare. In 1986, she created the Brigitte-Bardot Foundation, active in the protection of animals and the fight against cruelty towards them. Through her commitment, she notably contributed to the widespread use of the stunning gun in French abattoirs, as well as the ban on the import of seal skins into France, decided under the presidency of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. This measure was subsequently extended to several European countries. She also spoke out against hunting.

From the 1990s onwards, she was at the centre of controversies related to certain public stances and was the subject of several judicial convictions for racist remarks and public insults.