Iconic actress Brigitte Bardot may be mostly known for her mesmerizing acting roles, however, when it comes to the Hollywood star, there's more than meets the eye. Her documentary named after her, was released on December 3 and will provide an inside scoop into her life. The 91-year-old spends her retirement years in a unique way – surrounded by animals.
© Getty ImagesThe performer is passionate about animal rights and has devoted her life to them right in her own backyard in La Madrague, St. Tropez where she's owned a luxurious private residence for over 60 years. She also oversees a small chapel only a few miles away at La Garrigue, where she houses donkeys, cows, pigs, horses.
© Getty ImagesDuring her previous time on movie sets, she found herself drawn to stray animals and began a habit of spontaneously adopting them. Brigitte mostly saved goats and sheep in order to prevent them from heading into the slaughterhouse. The actress was so passionate about the cause, that she kept wild animals in her hotel room doing shoot days. She revealed to Vanity Fair: "It's what I dreamed of. It's what I always wanted."
She started to consciously become an animal rights activist in 1977, when she took a public stand against the inhumane killing of Canadian baby seals. Brigitte has also advocated against industrial animal farms, wearing fur, bullfights, the killing of horses, vivisection and hunting over the years. The entertainer has even sold her personal dresses and jewelry at auctions, including her pearl necklace that her ex-husband Gunter Sachs gifted her, in order to raise funds for the Brigitte Bardot Foundation. She has been married to Bernard d'Ormale for the past 33 years.
© Getty ImagesSelling off her personal items was all for a good cause, however her mindset made the decisions easier being that she shared: "I never get hung up on the past—the memories are too negative." She went on to open the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Welfare and Protection of Animals, located in Paris. Her love for animals has reinvigorated her zest for life, as she added: "I don't feel old or used up and I don't have time to waste thinking about aging, because I live only for my cause. Today, there are more regulations on cars than for animals…All of my causes, including the most radical, are motivated by the defense of animals."
© Getty ImagesFrom her secluded property, she boldly sends politicians hard-written letters, and she uses blue ink on blue paper, which only has "La Madrague, Saint-Tropez, 83990" on it. She adorably adds an illustration of a daisy next to her signature. Brigitte has sent letters to people in powerful positions such as the Co-Founder of Greenpeace, Paul Watson to thank him for fighting against whale-hunters in Japan, as well as to the French minister of agriculture to advocate against slaughterhouses. Her advocacy work oversees four sanctuaries across France, which have hosted over 7,000 animals and annually neuters over 12,000 cats.
