The pouty, tousle-haired French actress cut short her film career at 39 to devote more time to her friends in fur and feathers. Her death was announced by the Paris-based Foundation Brigitte Bardot had set up.

She was 23 when And God Created Woman opened in America and made her a cult figure. But there was no indication of her stardom as this film was a box office flop in France. It was the beginning of a long journey in which success and notoriety intertwined her persona and personality. If Bardot made her presence felt on screen in And God Created Woman, the critics were unimpressed by the film.

She worked with some of France's most respected directors. Yet few of Bardot's films were serious cinematic undertakings. She later told a French newspaper that she considered La Verite, a crime drama, was the only good film she ever made. Bardot was best known for her light comedies, like The Bride is too Beautiful, Babette Goes to War and The Vixen.

Bardot never acted in the US but did several English films. Small parts while she was unknown include Helen of Troy, Act of Love- a Kirk Douglas film shot in France, and Shakalo, a British-German production opposite Sean Connery were forgettable appearances.

Compared to other sex symbols of her times, Bardot's film persona stood out. Writing in New York Times, Bosley Crowther described her as "a phenomenon you have to see to believe”.

Bardot stood out for her ripe youthfulness. Her director was her husband Roger Vadim, though they soon divorced, he continued to shape her public image and directed her in four more films. But her countrymen overlooked the warts and all. President Charles De Gaulle called Bardot "the French export almost as important as Renault cars".

Retiring from films, Bardot did not say goodbye to controversies. Outspoken and with a strong personality, she never failed to speak her mind on animal rights, and was fined twice for public insults.

Holding animal rights close to her heart, she posed next to seal pups in Canadian ice flow. She was condemning the massacre of seal pups. Bardot became a vegetarian. To fund the foundation she had set up, she sold jewelry and personal belongings. Her country paid her a rich tribute on her passing. French President, Emanuel Macron said: “Brigitte Bardot embodied a life of freedom". (IPA Service)