Born Brigitte Anne Marie Bardot, France's beloved "Lolita" and pin-up icon of the 50s and 60s, kept her first name and her last when she launched her career. Brigitte was born on 28 September 1934 in the 15^th arrondissement of Paris, where she grew up with her sister, Marie Jeanne. Her parents worked in the manufacturing industry, but her father, an engineer by training, encouraged young Brigitte to direct her energy to more artistic ends, taking dance, music and singing lessons. Needless to say, this inevitably led to his daughter dreaming of a career in showbizz. And, at the tender age of 15, Brigitte went on to make her mark, posing for the famous French fashion magazine Elle in 1949.

Launching her career in the style with which she meant to go on, Brigitte turned towards the film world next, hoping to immortalise her image on the silver screen. A few years after her Elle shoot, she landed her first role, starring with Bourvil in "Le trou normand" (a film that hit French cinema screens in November 1952). This proved to be a key turning-point in her career and personal life, for it was on set that she met the director Roger Vadim. The couple embarked on a passionate affair and married shortly afterwards, on 20 December 1952.

From that moment on, Brigitte the blonde bombshell was launched and she went on to make explosive appearances on the screen, starring in films made by some of the greatest French directors of the day including Jean Luc Godard, Christian Jaque, Edouard Molinaro and Henri Georges Clouzot. In 1953, Brigitte also headed off across the Atlantic to appear in "Act Of Love" (an American film in which she starred opposite Kirk Douglas).

In 1956, Bardot starred in what was to become the most iconic film in her history, immortalised as a screen goddess in her husband Roger Vadim's classic "Et dieu créa la femme." Ironically, while the couple's relationship became increasingly strained on set, Bardot-mania swept the length and breadth of France, her nude scene with Jean-Louis Trintignant creating a veritable scandal.

Following her divorce from Vadim in December 1957, Bardot began to appear on the arm of another major French star, the crooner Sacha Distel. The couple's relationship, barely ever out of the media spotlight, would soon bite the dust, however. Meanwhile, Bardot kept up a hectic schedule in front of the cameras, appearing in a whole string of films. She took a short break from film sets when she became pregnant, however and, on 11 January 1960, she gave birth to a son, Nicolas. The father was her second husband, Jacques Charrier (whom she married in 1959, and left on 30 January 1963). Exhausted by her non-stop schedule and her rollercoaster personal life, Brigitte attempted to commit suicide. Fortunately, she was found in time – otherwise, the nation would have lost the icon who had come to epitomise French charm and beauty!

In the early 60s, BB – as Brigitte was soon dubbed by the national press – began to think seriously about launching a singing career. Her new ambitions were triggered by a young Franco-Argentinian singer who paid tribute to her with his song "Brigitte Bardot" ( a song which, needless to say, received extensive airplay!) Boosted by the success of the song, which helped cement her international fame, Brigitte also earnt herself a new nickname in the process: Miss Béjo!

Deciding that she had a voice worth recording herself, BB went into the studio in 1962 to record her first single, "C'est rigolo". This was just the beginning of her parallel career as an actress and singer – a double career which she further enhanced by recording the soundtracks of several of her films (including Louis Malle's "Viva Maria" in 1965 and "Babette s'en va t'en guerre.") Brigitte's potential behind the mike was soon spotted by Serge Gainsbourg, who stepped in and suggested he should start writing material for her. The couple enjoyed a brief affair and Gainsbourg penned "L'appareil à sous" for BB, marking the beginning of their professional collaboration.

Bardot not only became Gainsbourg's lover, she also provided him with a new muse who incarnated the typical 60s girl. The pair went on to record a whole string of cult pop songs together including the legendary "Harley Davidson" (recorded at the end of '67). The song went on to become one of the biggest hits of the decade after BB seduced television audiences on the "Show Bardot," bestriding her mean machine dressed in sexy black leather. (The poster image of BB as dream biker chick would grace countless teenage bedrooms across France that year!) The song became such a hit that Les Charlots even recorded a comic send-up version "Je ne reconnais plus personne en… Massey Fergusson." Gainsbourg also came back to the song at the end of his career, recording "Harley David, Son Of A Bitch."

1967 was also the year that Bardot recorded the erotic female vocals on Gainsbourg's risqué "Je t'aime moi non plus." The song, banned from the airwaves in several countries, ended up immortalised by Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, Bardot having barred Gainsbourg from releasing her version until 1986. (Some critics later remarked that Birkin's breathy English-accented vocals actually sounded more sensual than Bardot's!)

Another highlight of BB's pop career was "Bonnie & Clyde" (arranged like the latter by Michel Colombier). The single, which enjoyed extensive play on the airwaves and received its first TV broadcast on 1 January 1968, was also the title track of Brigitte's album. The album, strictly speaking a sort of greatest hits collection, featured a number of duets such as "Bonnie & Clyde" (recorded with Gainsbourg) as well as Brigitte's solo work. Highlights included "Bubble Gum", "La Madrague" and the more obscure "Un jour comme un autre" (which has to rate as one of the most beautiful songs in BB's repertoire). Bardot's collaboration with her Pygmalion lasted through until 1970 with the production of a last joint Bardot-Gainsbourg hit, "Nue au soleil."

Two of Gainsbourg's best-known singles also date from this period: the cheeky "Tu veux ou tu veux pas?" and  "Tu es le soleil de ma vie" (the French adaptation of "You Are The Sunshine of My Life" recorded as a duet with Sacha Distel).

By the 70s, Brigitte Bardot had reached the height of her fame and, some would say, the pinnacle of her beauty. Her iconic status was confirmed when Général de Gaulle chose her to incarnate the French national symbol, Marianne, and her bust appeared in town halls across France. In 1985, Bardot was further honoured when she was awarded the Légion d'honneur.

In later life, Bardot has become notorious for her outspokenness and her controversial political views. (A staunch republican, she has made no secret of her support for the far-right). Meanwhile, Bardot has abandoned her showbizz lifestyle, announcing, in 1973, that she was going into official retirement. Since then she has gone into a sort of media retreat, living secluded in Saint-Tropez, in La Madrague (her house which tourists from around the world regularly photograph from boats moored out in the bay).

Bardot has never gone back on her decision and these days she devotes all her time and energy to the Brigitte Bardot Foundation which she set up to protect animal rights. This living legend, who has some fifty films and more than eighty songs to her credit, still lives secluded in the south of France, making only rare media appearances – which not infrequently end in national scandal!

September 2005