Early on in her career, she was often labeled “the most beautiful woman in the world.” This might have played havoc with the mind of a lesser mortal; for Brigitte Bardot, forever typecast as the blonde bombshell, it was all in a day’s work. Throughout her illustrious career, she acted in 47 films, performed in several musicals, and recorded more than 60 songs. She became a muse for the likes of Christian Dior, Pierre Balmain, and Pierre Cardin. And she was awarded the Legion of Honour, France’s highest decoration, in 1985, ten years after retiring at age 40 to pursue a “more meaningful life” out of the withering glare of the press, when she could have continued to shine on the silver screen.
Bardot appears to be having a major moment in 2025. Sabrina Carpenter’s new Vogue Italia cover shoot, shot by fashion photographer Steven Meisel, was clearly influenced by the legendary actress’s ’60s-era glamour. And two new art books pay tribute to her considerable legacy. Being Bardot, published by ACC Art Books, features photography by Douglas Kirkland and Terry O’Neill, who took some of the most iconic images of the actress ever captured on film; while Brigitte Bardot: Intimate, from Assouline, showcases never-before-published photos by her longtime friend Glislain “Jicky” Dussart. All still utterly enthralling nearly six decades later.
“In a period of just a little more than 20 years, Brigitte Bardot exploded established perceptions of beauty and femininity,” writes author James Clarke in the introduction to Being Bardot. “In doing so, she dramatically rewrote expectations around—and perhaps even established a new version of—femininity. She was a movie star and a pop-culture icon whose image was emblematic of a particular moment in time. Bardot’s film career spanned 21 years, from 1951 to 1973. Her screen performances, and the still images of her that became such a constant and vivid element of popular culture, brought a new sense of what female movie stardom could be, not only in French cinema but globally.”
Bardot’s killer looks and knockout style have been emulated by the likes of Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss, Lara Stone, Amy Winehouse, Georgia May Jagger, Scarlett Johansson, and Paris Hilton. Asked about her many imitators, Bardot simply sniffed, ”None have my personality.” She put Saint-Tropez on the map after filming And God Created Woman there in 1953, directed by her husband Roger Vadim, establishing such a strong connection with the Mediterranean paradise that she lives there to this day, having made it her permanent home; many of Dussart’s photographs were taken there.
Terry O’Neill created one of the most iconic images ever taken of Bardot, a photograph of her smoking a cigarette on the set of The Legend of Frenchie King in 1971.”I thought if I could get a close-up of the moment the wind blew her trademark hair into her eyes, combined with the cigarette dangling from those lips, it would capture how sexy, strong and wild her image was,” O’Neill recalls in Being Bardot. “I didn’t have many frames left, so I went in closer. The wind blew, and I clicked the shutter. I had no idea if the photo would match the image I had in my mind until the film was developed. The first time I saw these images, I got chills.” It’s safe to say that the rest of the world did, too.
On the occasion of her 90th birthday, the town of Villefranchesur-Mer, another picturesque French Riviera town she elevated to icon status, honored Bardot with a celebratory photo exhibition. “The images show her sometimes bursting with joy, sometimes introspective, but always imbued with this aura which has fascinated and still fascinates entire generations,” the exhibition noted. “Bardot’s authenticity is one of the most striking to people. Even though she was a global star, she always stayed true to who she was and did not yield to the expectations of others.”
From the very start of her career, the curators wrote, “from Paris to Saint-Tropez and via Villefranche-sur-Mer, all along her path to fame, from one film to the next, Brigitte had all the makings of a celebrity: Whether copied, scrutinized, followed, persecuted or adored, she made one successful film after another based on her sex appeal, in which she often plays a young French woman who is portrayed as wild, suave, and beautiful. Often the object—and victim— of a malicious curiosity, on screen she is revealed as a true, uninhibited and moving actress. Bardot irritated and amused her contemporaries all the more by her blatant disregard of public opinion and lack of approval of known critiques.”
Her impact on cinema, fashion, and culture cannot be overstated, all the more so because she decided to turn her back on it and devote herself to a cause close to her heart; in 1986, she founded the Fondation Brigitte Bardot to protect wild and domesticated animals. Beyond simply becoming famous, she radically altered the whole concept of female stardom. And she continues to influence and inspire generations of actresses, models, and women from all walks of life. Vive Bardot.
This article originally appeared in Maxim magazine’s September/October 2025 issue.
