Beautiful Photos Of Brigitte Bardot We Never Knew About

Brigitte Ann-Marie Bardot has been so many things in her lifetime. A sex symbol, a fashion icon, and eventually an animal rights activist. The French actress, singer, and model often referred to by her initials, B.B., shocked the world when she walked away from her career at just 39-years old.

This early retirement may have been prompted by her exhaustion and a desire to focus on animal rights but it also immortalized her former image. Her onscreen presence is now encased in amber, a separate lifetime from the one in which she exists now.

After several failed marriages, a battle with depression, and surviving breast cancer, Bardot has more than proven to have a fierce inner strength. She’s lived an extraordinary life and continues to do so with joie de vivre–the exuberant enjoyment of lif

Brigitte Bardot Plays With Her Blonde Locks, 1965

After several failed marriages, a battle with depression, and surviving breast cancer, Bardot has more than proven to have a fierce inner strength. She’s lived an extraordinary life and continues to do so with joie de vivre–the exuberant enjoyment of life. Continue reading to learn about her ups and downs, how she inspired Bob Dylan, and where she went when she left the entertainment world in the rear view mirror

Dive Into The Unknown Life Of Bardot

In order to truly understand the beautiful life of Bardot, we must start at the very beginning. Take the time to learn about her childhood, teens, young adulthood, and even the present day Brigitte...and you will have a new found appreciation for one of the most beautiful humans to ever grace this Earth

Who was Brigitte Bardot?

Brigitte Ann-Marie Bardot, love interest extraordinaire of the '50s and '60s, gained her reputation from appearing in racy European films and leading a defiantly liberated lifestyle. Bardot at the height of her powers was the French siren no man could resist. The public image of Bardot, those photos and posters that have been printed endlessly, represent a role she played to perfection, but there's more to her story. In addition to being a model, movie star, and fashion icon, she's also a successful author and an animal rights activist.

Her First Love Was Ballet

Bardot wanted to be a ballerina early in her life and attended ballet school for three years beginning in 1947. At the invitation her mother's friend, she modeled in a fashion show in 1949 and in the same year she modeled for the fashion magazine Jardin des Modes. Aged 15, she was noticed by a young film director while babysitting. He showed photos of her from an issue of Elle magazine, which she had appeared on the cover, to a director and screenwriter who offered Bardot the opportunity to audition for a role in his upcoming film. Although Bardot got the role, the film was cancelled but made her consider becoming an actress. She started her acting career in 1952. After appearing in 16 routine comedy films that had limited international release, she became world-famous in 1957 after starring in the controversial film And God Created Woman.

Brigitte Bardot was raised in a well-off family

Brigitte Bardot was born in Paris, on September 28, 1934, to Louis Bardot and Anne-Marie “Toty” Bardot. Bridget grew up in an upper-middle-class, Roman Catholic household. She has a younger sister, Marie-Jeanne, who also grew up to be an actress and writer. Her father had an engineering degree and worked with his father Charles Bardot. Together they ran a family-owned business.

She began dancing at the age of seven

Brigitte entered the Cours Hattemer, a private school when she was seven, she only attended three days a week, studying from home the rest of the week. She also took dance lessons at Madame Bourget’s dance studio three days a week. She was a dedicated dancer and hard working even at a young age.

Her sister quit dance but Brigitte remained disciplined 

Brigitte’s little sister, Marie-Jeanne was born 5 May 1938 and was enrolled in the same school as Brigitte. While she possessed the signature Bardot beauty and similar talents as her sister, she wasn’t all that into dance. Marie dropped out of dance lessons in secret so as not to disappoint their mother. Bridget, on the other hand, remained dedicated to her craft and concentrated on ballet.

Bardot was accepted by the Conservatoire de Paris

All that hard work paid off, in 1947, Bardot was accepted by the Conservatoire de Paris. There she was able to really hone her skills and attended ballet classes by Russian choreographer Boris Knyazev for three years. The doe-eyed beauty also earned the nickname “Bichette” which translates to “Little Doe” from her fellow ballerinas there.

She was given the cover of Elle Magazine at fifteen 

In 1949, at 14-years-old she was invited to model in a fashion show. Soon after the show, she modeled for the fashion magazine Jardin des Modes. A year later she was a cover girl. At 15-years-old she was on the March 8, 1950, cover of Elle Magazine. Each gig soon led to the next, a domino effect leading her towards inevitable fame began at a very young age.

Director Roger Vadim was instrumental in launching Bardot's acting career

It was her Elle cover that got her noticed by film director, Roger Vadim. It was Vadim that brought the photo to director and screenwriter Marc Allégret who asked her to audition for “Les lauriers sont coupés.” She got the role but the film was canceled but it was this experience that piqued her interest in acting.