French Media Scrambles Following Brigitte Bardot Health Scare; Actress Recently Posted On Grief At Jane Birkin’s Death

Melanie Goodfellow
·2 min read
1
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Emergency services were called to Brigitte Bardot’s Saint Tropez home on Wednesday after the iconic French actress and animal rights activist suffered breathing difficulties, according to French media reports.

News of her malaise sent French media outlets into overdrive amid fears for the well-being of the 88-year-old actress.

More from Deadline

Her husband Bernard d’Ormale was later reported to have told local newspaper Var Martin that his wife’s breathing was back under control and she was feeling better.

“It was around 9 o’clock when Brigitte had trouble breathing. It was stronger that usual but she didn’t lose consciousness… the fireman came and gave her oxygen and then stayed to monitor her,” he said.

He suggested high temperatures in Saint Tropez as Southern Europe suffers a prolonged heatwave had been a contributing factor.

“Like all people of a certain age, she can no longer stand the heat,” he said.

Bardot remains an icon of French cinema even though she was last on set 50 years ago.

Her best known credits span 1956 Saint Tropez-set breakout Et Dieu… Crea La Femme (And God… Created Woman) by Roger Vadim, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s murder trial drama La Vérité and Jean-Luc Godard’s 1963 Contempt.

After stepping away from cinema, Bardot devoted herself to animal rights causes. She set up the Fondation Brigitte Bardot in 1986 to support this work, financing its launch through the sale of jewelry and other personal effects.

Bardot has lived a fairly private life in recent years but took to the social networks this week to pay tribute to actress and singer Jane Birkin, following her death at the age of 76 at the weekend.

“I am really sad. Jane is gone. When one is so pretty, so fresh, so spontaneous, with the voice of a child, one doesn’t have the right to die. She will remain forever in our hearts,” she said in a handwritten note, posted on Twitter.

Bardot and Birkin originally connected through Serge Gainsbourg who had a relationship with Bardot prior to meeting Birkin.

The pair worked together on Bardot’s final 1973 film, Roger Vadim’s Don Juan, Or If Don Juan Were A Woman and remained friends.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.