Then: The quintessential sex siren of the 60s, Bardot began her career, fittingly enough, as a model. After being spotted by director Roger Vadim, who would help her launch her film career and later marry her, Bardot appeared in a series of French romantic dramas before hitting it big with And God Created Woman and Contempt.
Now: Bardot continued to make French films and recorded numerous popular songs in the 1960s and 70s. She announced her retirement shortly before turning 40, then posed for Playboy in honour of her 40th birthday. Now an outspoken animal rights activist, Bardot has been fined five times by the French courts for ‘inciting racial hatred,’ mostly relating to comments she has made about Muslim cultural practices and immigrants in France.
Photo by Michel Bernanau.
