French Sex Symbol & Animal Rights Activist Brigitte Bardot Dies at 91

French actress Brigitte Bardot, a screen siren of the '50s, '60s, and early '70s, has died at 91.

Bruno Jacquelin, of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, told The Associated Press that Bardot passed away on Sunday in her home in southern France. He did not share her cause of death.

According to The AP, Bardot had been hospitalized last month.

French President Emmanuel Macron remembered Bardot on X, writing, "We are mourning a legend.”

Bardot shot to fame in the controversial 1956 film “And God Created Woman,” directed by her husband Roger Vadim.

She went on to become a global sex symbol, so much so that in 1969, the national emblem of France and the official Gallic seal were modeled after her likeness.

After starring in dozens of films, Brigitte went on to become a well-known animal rights activist.

She told The AP in 2007, “Man is an insatiable predator. I don’t care about my past glory. That means nothing in the face of an animal that suffers, since it has no power, no words to defend itself.”

Bardot, however, was later criticized for taking on more extremist views as she spoke out against Muslims immigrating to France, as well as her controversial comments regarding the #MeToo movement and comparing LGBTQ+ people to pedophiles.

The actress was married four times, including to Vadim from 1952-1957, Jacques Charrier from 1959-1963, and Gunter Sachs from 1966-1969.

She is survived by her husband of 33 years, far-right politico Bernard d’Ormale.

Bardot is also survived by her son Nicolas with Charrier, who was born in 1960. When they split, Jacques retained custody. According to People magazine, Brigitte and Nicolas were estranged when she died. She referred to that pregnancy as a "tumor," and candidly admitted she was not cut out for motherhood.

Bardot's son, in turn, mused that he would have been better taken care of had he been born an animal.