French film legend Brigitte Bardot, one of the most recognizable screen stars of the 20th century and a cultural icon known worldwide as the “blonde bombshell,” has died at the age of 91, her foundation announced. AP News

The Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which she established to protect animals, said in a statement reported by Agence France-Presse that Bardot chose to leave her celebrated career in cinema to devote her life to animal welfare. No specific details on the time, place or cause of her death have been made public. AP News

Bardot was born in Paris in 1934. She trained as a ballerina in her youth before moving into modeling and acting. Her breakthrough came with the 1956 film And God Created Woman, directed by her then-husband Roger Vadim, which made her an international sensation and a defining face of post-war cinema. Over the course of her career she starred in dozens of films, including acclaimed titles such as Contempt and La Vérité, and became a symbol of sensuality and cinematic freedom. People.com+1

Despite her fame, Bardot stepped away from acting in 1973 at the height of her career, retiring from the screen at the age of 39. She later founded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation in 1986, focusing on animal rights and welfare causes, drawing both supporters and controversy for her outspoken advocacy. Pitchfork

In her later years, Bardot lived a largely private life at her home in Saint-Tropez, the French Riviera resort town she helped popularize, where she continued her work for animal protection. French officials announced that her funeral will be held on January 7 at the Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption church in Saint-Tropez, followed by a private burial and public tributes. AP News+1

Bardot’s impact on film and popular culture was widely acknowledged: she reshaped perceptions of female stardom in the 1950s and ’60s and remained an influential figure far beyond her screen career. Sky News