Brigitte Bardot is a former actress and model that is perhaps best remembered for her role in the 1956 film And God Created Woman. At the time of the film’s release, Brigitte was married to it’s director. However, they would divorce the next year. Brigitte left the entertainment industry behind in the mid-1970s, though she’s still around. According to Brigitte, who is now 88 years old, she couldn’t take the fame that came with acting. Join Facts Verse as we explore how Brigitte Bardot stays out the limelight after her tragic career.
Brigitte Bardot’s Early Life
Brigitte Bardot was born in Paris, France, on September 28, 1934. The young girl grew up in a wealthy part of the city to a well-to-do family, but that doesn’t mean that her childhood was carefree. Instead, it seems that Brigitte had a fairly miserable time growing up. Her parents were incredibly strict on her and her sister, forcing a conservative upbringing that didn’t gel well with Brigitte in particular. One of the most defining moments of Brigitte’s childhood seems to have been an incident wherein her and her sister accidentally broke one of their father’s precious vases. This accident resulted in Brigitte and her sister being whipped repeatedly. After the whipping, Brigitte’s father gave the girls the silent treatment.
Brigitte’s family was Catholic, and their conservative values made the young woman feel that she was trapped in a bubble as she began coming of age. Brigitte would go on to rebel against these conservative values by becoming a sex symbol. Since her childhood, Brigitte had always shone a talent for ballet. However, during her teenage years, Brigitte became to believe that her future lied in the world of modeling. In May of 1949, when Brigitte was only 14 years old, the young woman appeared in the magazine Elle.
Brigitte’s 1949 appearance in Elle started up her modeling career. A few years later, Brigitte was ready to make the transition from modeling work to film work. As Brigitte was trying to make a name for herself as an actress, she met a man by the name of Roger Vadim. At the time, Roger was the assistant of a director by the name of Marc Allégret. Brigitte had secured herself a possible role in Marc’s upcoming film. Marc sent his assistant to go check the girl out. Though Brigitte didn’t end up getting the role in Marc’s picture, she left a pretty big impression on Roger Vadim.
Roger Vadim Made Brigitte a Star
Roger Vadim was around five years old than the 16-year-old Brigitte Bardot, but this problematic age gap didn’t stop the two from falling in love. Roger thought that the teenage girl was beautiful, and she though that he was unlike anyone that she had ever met before. When Brigitte’s conservative parents caught wind of the fact that their teenage daughter was becoming romantically involved with a man in his 20s, they understandably went about trying to put an end to it.
According to legend, Brigitte Bardot’s parents were so disturbed upon learning that their daughter had become romantically involved with Roger Vadim that they threatened to send her away to England. When this threat was made, it inspired Brigette to attempt suicide for the first of what would go on to become many, many times. This first suicide attempt saw Brigette turn her family’s oven on and stick her head inside of it. Thankfully, her parents caught the young woman in the act. Brigitte’s first suicide attempt had proved fruitful, as her parents didn’t end up sending her to England.
Once they realized that there was little that they could do to keep their daughter from being romantically involved with Roger Vadim, Brigitte Bardot’s parents gave their reluctant approval to the relationship. Their only caveat was that Brigitte and her new lover couldn’t tie the knot until the girl was 18 years old. Brigitte and Roger’s wedding occurred on December 21, 1952. As per the young woman’s conservative upbringing, the marriage ceremony was a Catholic one.
And God Created Woman was Brigitte’s First Big Film
After the wedding, Roger Vadim set about turning his new wife into a full-fledged celebrity. Quickly, Brigitte Bardot became one of the most-photographed women in the entire world. The woman was taking the world of modeling by storm, and Roger also secured her some minor roles in feature films. Of course, it was Brigitte’s sex appeal that helped her stand out in the eyes of the public. She was often photographed wearing a bikini, and she was considered a sex symbol thanks to her modeling work well before she became a film star. Much of Brigitte’s early work in film was criticized due to the fact that she had little acting training.
After several small roles in feature films, Brigitte Bardot was finally given a star-making role thanks to her first husband. Roger Vadim released his directorial debut in 1956, and it was called And God Created Woman. The movie starred Brigitte as the female lead, and an actor named Jean-Louis Trintignant played her romantic interest. The film was shot on location in Saint-Tropez, France. Over the course of filming, Brigitte fell deeply in love with her male costar.
As legend has it, Brigitte had a hard time keeping her hands off of Jean-Louis Trintignant when the cameras weren’t rolling. Brigitte’s obsession with the actor paved the way for her and Roger Vadim to divorce in 1957. The divorce was largely amicable, as both parties had been unfaithful. Brigitte then continued her romance with Jean-Louis for a time. Like Brigette, Jean-Louis was married at the time that the relationship began. Though both Brigette and Jean-Louis left their respective spouses to be with each other, they never ended up getting married. They lived together for two years.
Brigitte Bardot Abandoned Her Only Child
After living with Jean-Louis Trintignant for two years, Brigitte Bardot found a new lover in the form of a popular singer named Gibert Bécaud. Though Gibert was married, the two became romantically involved. From Gibert, Brigitte moved onto another popular singer. This time, the singer’s name was Jacque Charrier. The two met after starring in a film together, which was named Babette Goes to War. Jacque would go on to become Brigitte’s second husband. Not only that, but Brigitte would have her only kid with the man.
When Brigitte Bardot became pregnant with her second husband’s child, she didn’t want to keep it. However, her in-laws managed to convince her to go ahead with the birth. Brigitte was forced to give birth at home due to the fact that there were too many paparazzi outside of her house for her to get to the hospital on time. Brigitte’s first and only child, named Nicholas, was born in January of 1960.
Brigitte suffered from severe post-partum depression after the birth of her first and only child. This depression was greatly exacerbated by the fact that she hadn’t wanted to have the kid in the first place. The same year that Nicholas was born, Brigitte attempted suicide once more. This suicide attempt was a good deal more serious than the first one. Not only did the actress consume a whole bottle of sleeping pills, but she also slit both of her wrists. It seems that the attempt was premeditated, as the actress could be quoted in the tabloids that week expressed that she was going to die soon.
The Tabloids Started Tearing Brigitte Apart in the 1960s
Brigitte ended up divorcing from her second husband in 1963. That husband was given custody of their child. By the end of the 1960s, Brigette was known more for being tabloid fodder than she was for being an actress or a model. Towards the beginning of the decade, the actress’s secretary turned against her and sold many of her personal secrets to the tabloids. This started up a trend of the actress being made fun of in the tabloids, and this trend would never abate. It eventually led to Brigitte retiring in the 1970s.
Some of the things that Brigitte’s secretary shared to the tabloids included the fact that the actress was very stingy about her money. However, the thing that the public seemed to have been most interested regarding Brigitte around the time was the celebrity’s strange love life. In addition to moving from husband to husband, Brigitte also had a penchant for engaging in affairs with both men and women. Brigitte is rumored to have had affairs with many notable figures, including Warren Beatty and Serge Gainsbourg.
In 1962, Brigitte got bored of acting and decided that she wanted to start up a career as a singer. Brigitte found some success as a singer, and she went on to work in the music industry for two decades. By the time that she quit singing in 1982, she had already exited from the film industry. Brigitte’s exit from the film industry occurred during the mid-1970s.
Where is Brigitte Bardot Today?
Brigitte Bardot’s third husband was a rich playboy by the name of Gunther Sachs, and they were married from 1966 to 1969. After divorcing from Gunther and then retiring from the entertainment industry, Brigitte then married fourth husband Bernard d’Ormale in 1992. Brigitte and Bardot are still together today, though Brigitte stays out of the spotlight.
Nowadays, Brigitte Bardot is more interested in helping animals than she is in the entertainment industry. The former model-turned-actress hasn’t looked back since leaving the industry behind. In 1986, she founded the Foundation Brigitte Bardot, which is dedicated to animal protection. Brigitte still lives in the same Saint-Tropez property that she has owned since the late 1950s. She’s 88 years old, and she’s aged fairly gracefully. However, Brigitte claims that she doesn’t rely on exercise and plastic surgery to keep her young. Instead, she simply rolls with the changes.
Brigitte Bardot left the entertainment industry behind after some negative experiences, but she’s still alive and well today at the age of 88! Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that Brigitte Bardot became romantically involved with her first husband at the age of only 16, and that she attempted suicide when her parents tried to keep them apart? Comment down below!
