Brigitte Bardot

When you think of Brigitte Bardot, what comes to your mind? Is it her acting talent? Or maybe her influential fashion contribution and beauty? After reading this blog post your idea of Brigitte Bardot might be completely different…

Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot was born on 28^th September 1934 in Paris, France and she is known for being a fashion model, actress, singer and animal rights activist. She was know as BB (the French pronounced it ‘bebe’ which is French for ‘baby’) When Brigitte was young she was an aspiring ballet dancer; Brigitte’s mother was optimistic about her daughter’s talents involving music and dance. Brigitte wanted to try out a modelling career after being approached by scouts; by 1950 she was already gracing the cover of French ‘Elle’.

In 1952, Brigitte began her acting career; her first acting debut was at the youthful age of 18 in a French film called ‘Le Trou Normand’ which translates in English to ‘Crazy for Love.’ After appearing in sixteen films she became world-famous due to her role in the notorious film ‘And God Created Women.’ She was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress for her role in Louis Malle’s 1965 film, ‘Viva Maria!’

Listen to one of Bardot's songs below:

Brigitte retired from the entertainment industry in 1973, just before her 40^th birthday. She starred in a total of 47 films, performed in numerous music shows and recorded 80 songs!

Brigitte's son grew up with his father's family 

A few facts about Brigitte...

• Brigitte is the mother of Nicolas-Jaques, who was born in 1960. 
• Brigitte was terrified of aeroplanes so she always used the train to travel
• She was a breast cancer survivor

After she retired she became an animal rights activist, she became a vegetarian in the 80s. Brigitte is not liked by many, though. During the 1990s she became controversial due to her criticism of immigration, race mixing and some aspects of homosexuality – she has been fined five times for “inciting racial hatred.”

Brigitte is still alive to this day, she is 76 years old and although she is no longer as popular in the media, she has left behind a memorable mark on fashion and beauty.

Everyone who met Brigitte in the flesh commented on her regal posture and beautiful way of moving, it is not surprising that she is a huge icon to many girls. Her hair was always voluminous, with tousled curls and the beehive hairstyle which was brought back into fashion by Amy Winehouse in 2007. Her beehive was easily wearable; she left the back down and added a black hair band, too.

To achieve Brigitte Bardot’s beauty, focus on your eyes;

1. Apply a dark eye shadow smudged over the eye lid and use black liquid eyeliner to create a winged cat-eye effect.
2. To finish off your eyes, use a pair of false eyelashes to the upper lid with lash glue
3. Fill in your eyebrows lightly with a fair coloured eyebrow pencil
4. Keep your lips nude with apricot toned lipstick
5. Create beautiful waves in your hair by using large Velcro rollers, to fully achieve Bardot's look wear it in a 'half up, half down' beehive style.

 Here is a list of beauty products you can use to pull off the famous look:

 

Brigitte’s approach to fashion has influenced modern day icons such as Kate Moss; it is obvious to see that Kate has some aspects of Bardot’s style. One of her favourite outfits was a short sun dress and ballet pumps – she seldom wore luxurious or typically elegant clothes; she preferred to wear casual but still impressive outfits. Here is a list of Brigitte’s fashion ‘staples’:

1. Ballet flats
2. Feminine sun dresses
3. Capri pants
4. Boat neck 'Bardot' t-shirt
5. A bikini
6. Straw hat
   
   
   A boat neck t-shirt is a top with a wide open neck that exposes both shoulders. It is named after Brigitte as she popularised the style.

Below you can see I have searched through the modern day high street shows and found similar items of clothing’s to Brigitte’s. If you are interested in achieving her look, I have also mentioned the price and source of the clothes. Have fun!