|
Brigitte Bardot Biography
- Born: 28 September 1934
- Birthplace: Paris, France
- Best Known As: Sexy French star of And God Created Woman
French actress Brigitte Bardot appeared in husband Roger Vadim's 1956 movie And God Created Woman
and became a star. Under Vadim's guidance during their marriage
(1952-57), Bardot went from a child-woman teen model to an international
sex symbol. Throughout the 1960s, her image was that of the blonde and
wild -- but innocent -- "sex kitten" of the screen. The image is easier
to recall than most of her films, with some exceptions, including The Truth (1960) and Jean-Luc Godard's Contempt
(1963). She retired from films in 1974, but -- a popular figure in
France -- she still makes headlines on occasion in her role as a
champion for animals. She was convicted in 2008 of violating France's
anti-racism laws for publicly condemning Muslims who slaughter sheep for
the celebratory feast of Aid el-Kebir (Eid al-Adha).
Roger Vadim later married Jane Fonda... Other bombshell movie stars of the 1950s included Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida...
Pop songs she recorded in the 1960s with Serge Gainsbourg saw a
resurgence in popularity in the 1990s, after Gainsbourg's death in 1991.
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:Brigitte
Bardo
(born Sept. 28, 1934, Paris, France) French film actress. She was discovered by Roger
Vadim when she appeared on a magazine cover at 15 and made her film
debut in 1952. Vadim crafted her "sex kitten" image for his films And God Created Woman (1956) and The Night Heaven Fell (1958), which set box-office records and made her an international star. She displayed her acting ability in such films as The Truth (1960), Contempt (1963), and Viva Maria! (1965). An animal rights activist, she established an animal welfare organization in 1987.
For more information on Brigitte Bardot, visit Britannica.com. Quotes:
"It is better to be unfaithful than faithful without wanting to be."
"Women get more unhappy the more they try to liberate themselves."
"I leave before being left. I decide."
"It is sad to grow old but nice to ripen."
"I am leaving the town to the invaders: increasingly numerous, mediocre, dirty, badly behaved, shameless tourists."
"I really wanted to die at certain periods in my life. Death was like
love, a romantic escape. I took pills because I didn't want to throw
myself off my balcony and know people would photograph me lying dead
below."
The archetypal sex kitten, Brigitte Bardot was the first
foreign-language star ever to attain a level of international success
comparable to America's most popular homegrown talents. While the vast
majority of her motion pictures failed to rank even remotely close to
the best of her native France's prodigious New Wave-era output, they
proved a major breakthrough in establishing a market for foreign films
in English-speaking countries; indeed, for all of the acclaim deservedly
heaped on the more gifted actors and directors of her day, perhaps no
other factor was more crucial to the far-reaching success of world
cinema than Bardot's sultry allure.
Born on September 28, 1934, in Paris, she was the daughter of a wealthy
industrialist; while studying ballet, she was approached with the offer
to begin modeling, and by 1950 her image had already graced the cover of
Elle magazine. There she was spotted by director Marc Allegret, who had earlier discovered the young Simone Simon. Soon Allegret's assistant, Roger Vadim,
contacted Bardot for a role in the picture Les Lauriers Sont Coupes.
While Allegret did not cast the young model in his film, Vadim became
immediately smitten by her pouty sensuality, and in 1952 he became her
husband. That same year, Bardot made her film debut in Jean Boyer's comedy Le Trou Normand; a series of bit roles followed before she appeared in Warner Bros.' 1955 production of Helen of Troy.
The studio was sufficiently impressed to offer a seven-year contract,
but she refused, to accept her largest role to date opposite Jean Marais and Isabelle Pia in Futures Vedettes.
After traveling to Britain to appear in 1955's Doctor at Sea, Bardot returned to France to begin work on her first starring role in 1956's La Lumiere d'en Face; the film's producer, Christine Gouze-Renal,
subsequently became her mentor and handled her career for a number of
years. While still largely an unknown, Bardot soon enjoyed a string of
hits, including Cette Sacree Gamine, Mi Figlio Nerone, and En
Effeuillant la Marguerite, which positioned her as France's top sex
symbol by 1957. As Bardot's popularity continued to soar, producer Raoul J. Levy offered Vadim the opportunity to direct his wife in Et Dieu Crea la Femme, an erotic melodrama co-starring Jean-Louis Trintignant.
The film made Bardot an international star, earning over four million
dollars in the U.S. alone. Unfortunately, her marriage to Vadim did not
last, although their respective careers remained intertwined for years
to come.
Bardot's popularity with American audiences was unprecedented for a
non-English speaking actress, and after Levy cut a reported
225,000-dollar three-picture deal with Columbia for her services,
she next starred in the sex romp Une Parisienne, followed by Vadim's
Les Bijoutiers du Clair de Lune. After much deliberation, plans were
finally announced for Bardot's English-language debut, Paris by Night, to be helmed by Vadim with Frank Sinatra in the lead. The project fell through, however, and she next appeared in 1960's Babette s'en va-t-en Guerre opposite Jacques Charrier, who briefly became her second husband. While filming Henri-Georges Clouzot's La Verite
later that year, Bardot attempted suicide on her 26th birthday. After
production resumed, the completed film rose to become France's top
moneymaker for the year, but it marked the end of her Columbia deal, and in light of her cooling popularity in the States and in Britain no other deals were immediately forthcoming.
In 1960, Bardot released a pop music album, Inside Brigitte Bardot;
several other LPs, including 1963's Brigitte Bardot Sings and 1968's
Special Bardot, were to follow, and she scored a number of hit singles
in tandem with the infamous singer/songwriter Serge Gainsbourg.
After she fired the original director on the 1961 comedy La Bride Sur
le Cou, she had Vadim step in to complete the picture. She next starred
with Marcello Mastroianni in Louis Malle's La Vie Privée,
delivering a clearly autobiographical turn as a young celebrity unable
to cope with the pressures of stardom. The picture was intended as
Bardot's swan song, but she was quickly coerced out of retirement to
star in Jean-Luc Godard's
brilliant Le Mépris. While today recognized as a classic, at the time
of its release the movie was the subject of very mixed reviews, with
considerable editing required for release outside of France. As a
result, it was a commercial disaster, and Bardot's standing as Europe's
most popular actress was usurped by Sophia Loren.
After finally making an American film, 1964's family comedy Dear Brigitte, Bardot began work on Malle's comedy Viva Maria!, which paired her opposite Jeanne Moreau.
When it failed to live up to international box-office expectations, few
of Bardot's subsequent films were screened outside of France. Even
within her native land her star continued to dim, and she did not appear
in another certified hit prior to 1970's L'Ours et la Poupee. However,
when the Vadim-helmed Don Juan 1973 ou Si Don Juan Etait une Femme and
1974's L' Histoire Tres Bonne et Tres Joyeuse de Colinot Trousse Chemise
failed, Bardot again announced plans for retirement; this time, apart
from a handful of television appearances, she made good on her promise,
and consistently refused all offers to return to the screen. In later
years she became something of a recluse, but continued to make
occasional headlines through her ardent support of animal rights causes
and inflammatory racial comments. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
|
Art Wallpapers 3d, art Painting Wallpapers
