With the incident taking place in July, d’Ormale suggested that the weather may have contributed, adding, “Like all people of a certain age, she can no longer stand the heat.” Throughout the 50s and 60s, Bardot would go on to become an international star and was seen as a sex symbol of her time. While she enjoyed great success, she has also struggled with her mental health. Bardot spoke about struggling with fame in a 2010 interview with FRANCE magazine, saying, “I have really been on the verge of suicide several times — it’s a miracle that I am still alive.”
She continued acting throughout the ’60s and ’70s, starring in her first Hollywood film, Dear Brigitte, in 1965 opposite James Stewart. Since retiring from acting, Bardot’s focus has become animal rights. Through the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, created in 1986, a French NGO whose mission is the protection of wild and domestic animals, she has dedicated herself to pursuing animal rights. Bardot’s viewpoints on issues of the day have landed her in controversy. The former screen siren was fined nearly $25,000 in 2008 after being convicted of provoking discrimination and racial hatred for writing that Muslims are destroying her country.
