BARDOT

There were many other actresses who became notorious for their lives on and off the screen but none more so than Brigitte Bardot. The release of "And God Created Woman" in 1957 created a worldwide public outcry with its first scene displaying Bardot lying full-length and nude beneath the Mediterranean sun. With her dishevelled blonde mane, her sex kitten pout and her tanned, supple, unclothed body, she had anticipated the 60s three years before they began. The success of the film made Bardot an instant legend but she had already been working for some time as a model and bit part actress. Discovered in 1949 by the director Marc Allegret, she married his assistant, Roger Vadim, who sent her to acting school. When Vadim unveiled her, BB's life became public property: the suicide attempt in 1960, the broken marriages and love affairs, the retirement in 1973 and commitment to animal causes and, more recently, the marriage to a lieutenant of the French right wing have all come under scrutiny. This book investigates the myth of the sex goddess and its cultural ramifications.
He shows that, even now, Bardot remains a potent presence and a famous figure - millions know her name, face and body, but few can cite a single film that she was in. The author reveals the truth behind the legend: how Bardot made a film with Louis Malle exploring her own discontent, and starred in Jean-Luc Godard's work "Contempt", which dismantles the very myth which brought her such fame.