
Brigitte Bardot was born on September 28, 1934, as Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot, and was the elder of two daughters. Her father was a businessman, and she grew up in a wealthy part of Paris. She helped in her mother’s hat shop and was noticed performing there. Having already trained as a ballet dancer for a decade and attended private school, she appeared on the cover of Elle magazine in 1950. This caught the attention of Roger Vadim, then a director’s assistant, who would become her first husband. When her parents opposed their relationship, she attempted suicide, but they married three months after her 18th birthday in 1952. Vadim cast her in his first film, ‘And God Created Woman’ (1956), though she had already made her film debut in 1952 with ‘Le Trou Normand’. Filmed in Saint Tropez, where her family had a house, the movie featured her as a sexually liberated young woman, a bold portrayal for the time. She became known for her blonde hair, dramatic makeup, and youthful appeal. While she admitted her acting skills weren’t her strongest suit, the film was successful in the US, fueled by rumors—which were true—of an affair with her co-star, Jean-Louis Trintignant. This led to her divorce from Vadim in 1957.