Brigitte Bardot

Actor

French actress Brigitte Bardot appeared in husband Roger Vadim's 1956 movie And God Created Woman and became a star. Under Vadim's guidance during their marriage (1952-57), Bardot went from a child-woman teen model to an international sex symbol. Throughout the 1960s, her image was that of the blonde and wild -- but innocent -- "sex kitten" of the screen. The image is easier to recall than most of her films, with some exceptions, including The Truth (1960) and Jean-Luc Godard's Contempt (1963). She retired from films in 1974 and has since been involved with various animal rights causes. A popular figure in France, she still makes headlines on occasion.

Extra credit: Roger Vadim later married Jane Fonda... Other bombshell movie stars of the 1950s included Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida... Pop songs she recorded in the 1960s with Serge Gainsbourg saw a resurgence in popularity in the 1990s, after Gainsbourg's death in 1991.

Bardot appears with Doris Day in our loop of Critter Defenders.