Brigitte Bardot

An icon of the 1960s and the cinema, Brigitte Bardot also enjoyed a successful career as a yéyé and pop singer, most notably for Serge Gainsbourg. Born in Paris on September 28, 1934, Bardot was soon known by her initials B. B. made her cinema breakthrough with Roger Vadim's film Et Dieu créa la femme (1956), whose score by Paul Misraki led to a mini-album (25cm) featuring dialogues and the young star on the cover. Her singing career, which began in 1961 with the 45-turn single "Sidonie", developed at the height of the yéyé wave, alongside her roles in La Vérité (1960), Vie privée (1961) and Le Mépris (1963). With lyrics by Jean-Max Rivière, Brigitte Bardot sang "La Madrague" (1963), "Moi je joue" and "Je me donne à qui me plaît" (1964), as well as a first song by Serge Gainsbourg, "L'Appareil à sous", taken from the 25cm Brigitte and the albums Brigitte Bardot (1963) and B.B. (1964). After Louis Malle's film Viva Maria! with Jeanne Moreau, in which the two actresses performed "Ah! Les Petites Femmes de Paris", her collaboration with French pop maestro Serge Gainsbourg led to a series of unstoppable hits, including "Bubble Gum " (1965) and the duets "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Comic Strip" (1967). The latter two songs, written for the 1968 New Year's Eve TV show, were included on the album Bonnie and Clyde (1967), followed by the cult hit "Harley Davidson " (1968), included on the Brigitte Bardot Show album. The passionate romance between the actress and the composer inspired Serge Gainsbourg to write the first draft of the erotic duet "Je t'aime moi non plus", which Brigitte Bardot did not want to be published, so as not to jeopardize her marriage to billionaire Gunther Sachs. The version sung two years later with Jane Birkin caused a scandal, while the first version was finally published in 1986. The last avatar of their affair, the tribute "Initials B.B.", sung by its author, appeared in 1968 in the wake of their break-up. In 1970, Brigitte Bardot sang "Tu veux ou tu veux pas", a French adaptation of a Brazilian song, followed by "Nue au soleil" and, in 1973, the duet with Sacha Distel "Le Soleil de ma vie", based on a Stevie Wonder song. After retiring from film sets that same year, the international star devoted herself to animal protection from her villa "La Madrague" in Saint-Tropez, setting up a Foundation in her name. In 1982, Brigitte Bardot recorded her last song for this cause, "Toutes les bêtes sont à aimer". Numerous compilations of her hits include The Best of Bardot (2004), Anthologie (2005), Les 50 Plus Belles Chansons (2008), La Belle et le Blues (2020), including the previously unreleased title track, and BB (2024). When she died on December 28, 2025 at the age of 91, Brigitte Bardot received a worldwide tribute.