Brigitte Bardot was born in Paris in 1934, into a small Catholic family. With the encouragement of her mother, she began learning ballet at the age of thirteen. After graduating from the Conservatorie de Paris, she began a career in modelling, in which she quickly started gracing the covers of ELLE and popular French fashion magazine Jardin des Modes. Often referred to by her initials, BB, the young aspiring model and ballerina was soon cast in several very successful French films.
With her then-husband and director Roger Vadim, BB starred in And God Created Woman (1956), which propelled her to international stardom. Her face and body were almost everywhere, from numerous films to magazine covers and even sculpted art. She had become one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s. She all but avoided Hollywood and placed most of her focus on international fame. On her 39th birthday, at the peak of her career, she announced her retirement and that her new passion was animal rights.
She became a vegetarian and started the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Welfare and Protection of Animals. Her promise to dedicate her fame and wealth to animals continues to be a valid and passionate reality for BB. Even recently she sent letters to the Danish Queen calling for the end of whale slaughters in the Faroe Islands. She spent half her life performing and modeling while the other half she dedicates to protecting animals. Even now at eighty, she continues to be a fierce advocate and seems to have no plans of slowing down. Specifically of note is her devotion to protecting animals.