Brigitte Bardot
1934 – 2025
RIP
For many young men growing up in Europe during the 60s and 70s Brigitte Bardot represented the epitome of sensual womanhood… long before most of us knew what that actually meant. For some – such as I – her recent passing might have introduced to us a fresh perspective on a complex life lived under the fierce glare the of the media attention that we could not hope to recognise or comprehend.
Brigitte’s later commitment to animal welfare might not have come as a surprise but many will have found her pandering to the French far right a far cry from the libertine image that had been (willingly or otherwise) constructed around her younger self.
Well – the sixties might seem (and indeed be) a long time ago, but there will be others like me who mourn the passing of an icon from our adolescent years that – for better or worse – made the world seem like a more thrilling and sensual place. Our fantasies might have been impossible, but at the time it felt as though the impossible might just – after all – be possible!
Rest in peace