Sex Symbol Brigitte Bardot Retired From Acting Because She ‘Had Enough,’ Called Experience ‘Awful’

A newly released book about ‘50s sex symbol Brigitte Bardot features rare unseen photos and details of the actress’s final years in the spotlight. The book, Being Bardot, was released by ACC Art Book and is filled with hundreds of photos and contact sheets from the archives of legendary photographers Douglas Kirkland and Terry O’Neill.

Douglas, who was famous for his images of Marilyn Monroe, recently passed away at the age of 88 in 2022. Terry also died in 2019 at the age of 81 and was a forefront photographer of London’s swinging ‘60s. The publisher of Being Bardot credited both late photographers for the book, calling it a “celebration of two incredible collections.”

Bardot sparked controversy on various occasions

In 1973, Bardot left the spotlight, but prior to her exit from the acting industry, Bardot was actively involved with animal care and activism. She was also protective of her personal life; however, she sparked controversy in recent years due to some of her comments. She was convicted multiple times, the fifth time in 11 years being in 2008.

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The former actress was convicted for inciting religious hatred two years before, as she wrote a letter to the then-Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy in which she criticized the Muslim festival of Aid el-Kebir. She was fined $23,325 and was ordered to pay $1,555 to the French group Movement Against Racism and for Friendship of People, according to The New York Times. She also criticized the #MeToo movement.

Why did Bardot leave acting?

James Clarke, a U.K.-based author and film historian who collaborated with ACC Art Books, claimed that Bardot left acting simply because she had “had enough.”

“There was some exhaustion there, not just from the pace of work, but just being the endless subject of a camera lens, whether it’s a still camera lens or a movie lens,” Clarke said. “That is one of the things that comes out a little bit in this book. She got to that point where it’s just like, ‘I’ve kind of done it and 20 years has been sufficient.’ …In the decades since the early ’70s, which was really when her career in movies concluded, she became very, very private.”

After withdrawing from show business, Bardot auctioned her jewelry, art, clothes, and other personal belongings in 1987. The auction raised half a million dollars, and the auctioneer at the time said only one-fifth of Bardot’s personal property was sold.

Bardot expressed that she had no desire to return to film

In 2012, Bardot, who was in her 70s, spoke of her exit to Vogue Homme, describing the celebrity experience as “awful.”

“…A nightmare. I just couldn’t live like that anymore. I quit the films when I was 38 because I’d had it up to here, so I have no desire to go back,” she said, affirming her decision to stay out of film.

The former actress also shared the moment she decided she was leaving for good, which was on “a medieval romp set in Périgord, called ‘Colinot trousse-chemise’ by Nina Companeez,” after witnessing a goat being treated cruelly. “How could anybody eat such an adorable little animal?” she asked, recalling the incident.

“Was that how I was going to grow old in the cinema? Just as I was starting to feel that I really wanted to give it all up. During dinner with the film crew, I told them that this film would be my last,” she added. Regardless of her rough exit and scandals, Bardot remains influential in pop culture and is currently the subject of a newly released series in France titled Bardot.