French cinema icon Brigitte Bardot dies at 91

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00:00Even at five years old, she was already at ease in front of the camera.

00:06Brigitte Bardot, the glamorous pinup of post-war France.

00:11She embodied a new breed of liberated woman.

00:17Born in Paris in 1934, her parents were middle class and conservative,

00:22far removed from the world of show business. Her mother saw her potential.

00:26At 15 years old, Bardot was on the cover of Elle magazine.

00:32Doors opened because of her modeling, but her passion lay in cinema.

00:37At 16, she got her first small film roles.

00:41Two years later, she married French film director Roger Vadim, against the advice of her parents.

00:47In 1956, with In God Created Woman, Vadim made her into a global sex symbol.

00:56She plays a young seductress, uninhibited and free-spirited.

01:02Critics tried to have the film censored without success.

01:05It became a global hit.

01:11Vadim let me act how I felt. I acted as I liked. And that sparked a scandal.

01:16She made films with cinema legends, Sacha Guitry, Louis Mal and Jean-Luc Godard, in contempt.

01:27Now, a star, Bardot was hounded by the press wherever she went.

01:31Like this appearance at the Cannes Film Festival.

01:33She was seen as a free spirit who didn't abide by social norms.

01:45Bardot was a role model for many young women.

01:50I'm delighted to be considered a legend, if I am one, but I don't believe that particularly.

01:57Her personal life made the front pages of the tabloids of the time.

02:00She was married four times and played up to her femme fatale image.

02:06Her brief relationship with Serge Gunzberg inspired some smash hit love songs.

02:16In 1973, at the peak of her career success,

02:19she chose to step out of the limelight to concentrate on defending animals.

02:23A recluse later in life, her media appearances became more and more rare.

02:34When she did hit the headlines, it was due to her racist statements.

02:38She faced French judges five times for incitement to racial hatred.

02:42I won't have a blush because of what I did or said or who I was.

02:50Equally admired and reviled, Bardot was always authentically herself.

02:54She remained unclassifiable to the end.

02:57Bardot passed at the age of 91 on December 28th.

03:01We've been boundless.

03:01We are here for...

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