“I am really a cat transformed into a woman… I purr. I scratch. And sometimes I bite.”
Although Brigitte was actually thought to be too hot to handle for 1950s Hollywood, she did make a film with Kirk Douglas in 1954 called “Act of Love”, but she was not his love interest in the film.
Brigitte’s first husband, Roger Vadim, made his directorial debut in 1956, with “And God Created Woman” (tagline … but the devil invented Brigitte Bardot). (Not to be confused with the 1988 film of the same name with Rebecca DeMornay).
This film was very daring for the 1950s and propelled an often barely dressed Brigitte to stardom. Simone de Beauvoir, on Bardot’s appeal, said: “The line of her lips forms a childish pout, and at the same time her lips are very kissable…. she turns up her nose at elegant clothes, jewels, girdles, perfumes, makeup, and all artifice. Yet her walk is lascivious and a saint would sell his soul to the devil to watch her dance.”
Though some critics panned the film saying that it was little more than an excuse to display Brigitte posing around semi-nude … well, still, that was the 50s; nowadays, any music video is a good enough excuse.
In 1969, a very breathy Brigitte recorded “Je t’aime … moi non plus” with Serge Gainsbourg, featuring simulated sounds of female orgasm, but the version that was later released was with Jane Birkin. While Gainsbourg declared it the “ultimate love song,” the song was censored in various countries and in France even the toned-down version was suppressed. The Vatican made a public statement citing the song as offensive. This notoriety led to it reaching No. 1 in the UK singles chart. (What .. it’s banned? Let’s jolly well hear it!).
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