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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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7

Why Bardot Is Back in Style

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(Newser) – Brigitte Bardot's pouty, carefree sexuality is back, and just in time for her 75th birthday next month. With fashion designers aping her look and London girls imitating her outfit in And God Created Woman—cropped jeans, pumps, and striped top—John Walsh looks back in the Independent at the sex kitten's career, from "the countess of come-hither" to the queen of racial intolerance in France.

Bardot's early flashes of on-screen nudity typecast her as "the chronic horizontale, the bed-hopping chanteuse" for life—or at least until she boldly quit the movies in 1973. She turned to animal rights causes, but has recently gone to court for inciting hatred against Muslim immigrants in France. "It's sad to think," writes Walsh, that a French symbol of sexual freedom "has come to despise modern France and to symbolise race hatred and bigoted suspicion."

This Saturday, March 24, 2007 file photo shows French film legend and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot.
This Saturday, March 24, 2007 file photo shows French film legend and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot.   (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon, File)
Gert Elfering stands beside 'Brigitte Bardot, Hair by Alexandre, January 1959' by Richard Avedon on March 10, 2008 in London, England.
Gert Elfering stands beside 'Brigitte Bardot, Hair by Alexandre, January 1959' by Richard Avedon on March 10, 2008 in London, England.   (Getty Images)
4th September 1966: French actress Brigitte Bardot during a ceremony in London.
4th September 1966: French actress Brigitte Bardot during a ceremony in London.   (Getty Images)
11th December 1968: French actress Brigitte Bardot relaxes in the back of a limousine upon her arrival at London's Heathrow Airport.
11th December 1968: French actress Brigitte Bardot relaxes in the back of a limousine upon her arrival at London's Heathrow Airport.   (Getty Images)
12th January 1968: French actress, Brigitte Bardot wears a cowboy hat during a break from filming on the set of 'Shalako'.
12th January 1968: French actress, Brigitte Bardot wears a cowboy hat during a break from filming on the set of 'Shalako'.   (Getty Images)
1960: Sultry French actress Brigitte Bardot in bed.
1960: Sultry French actress Brigitte Bardot in bed.   (Getty Images)
French actor Brigitte Bardot looks at her reflection in a mirror, while standing in the waters of Lake Leman, June 13, 1961.
French actor Brigitte Bardot looks at her reflection in a mirror, while standing in the waters of Lake Leman, June 13, 1961.   (Getty Images)
French actress and sex symbol Brigitte Bardot, dressed in a corset and bridal veil, smokes a cigarette while she pages through a photospread of herself.
French actress and sex symbol Brigitte Bardot, dressed in a corset and bridal veil, smokes a cigarette while she pages through a photospread of herself.   (Getty Images)
1965: French actor Brigitte Bardot leaning against window panes with her finger in her mouth on the set of director Louis Malle's film, 'Viva Maria!'
1965: French actor Brigitte Bardot leaning against window panes with her finger in her mouth on the set of director Louis Malle's film, 'Viva Maria!'   (Getty Images)
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Brigitte Bardot in "Contempt."   (YouTube)

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7 comments
VIEWING:
 
Cat-Lover
Aug 22, 09 9:10 PM CDT
Except that it was oil not animal rights, Bardot's life seems to parody the life of George W. Bush. Reply
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+2
IN RESPONSE:
oldgoat
Aug 23, 09 2:47 AM CDT
Wrong. Bardot was very big on the animal rights movement. http://www.fondationbrigittebardot.fr/site/homepage.php?Id=2
Vote up! Vote down!
+1
Kookey90
Aug 22, 09 9:58 PM CDT
Bardot Is Back in Style? I don't think so. Reply
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0
jagerhans
Aug 23, 09 7:47 AM CDT
so she promotes animal rights and bashes human rights ? I learned long ago that animal rights activists are damned man-hating lunatics you better shun. women are the worst ones. Reply
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-4
IN RESPONSE:
keybored
Aug 23, 09 8:13 AM CDT
She is bashing a group of people, not all people -- that would make her a racist not a misanthrope. Secondly, the bitter misogynistic tone of your quote is rather disturbing. I feel badly for you.
Vote up! Vote down!
+5

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