Think of Brigitte Bardot, and the word \u201cintimate\u201d doesn\u2019t exactly spring to mind. The French actress, model, singer, and animal rights advocate\u2019s ascent to stardom began in the 1950s, when she starred in films like And God Created Woman and captured the hearts (and eyes) of audiences worldwide. She was tapped for films like Le M\u00e9pris by Jean-Luc Godard and songs including \u201cJe t\u2019aime…Moi non plus,\u201d with Serge Gainsbourg. Her singular look\u2014a smoky eye, perfectly tousled hair, a bare d\u00e9collet\u00e9 \u2014turned her into a pop culture icon. But in her personal life, Bardot cherished her alone time, which is likely what led to her early retirement from acting in 1973\u2014so she could enjoy life without the world\u2019s prying eyes. <\/p>\n
Now, thanks to Assouline, French photographer Ghislain \u201cJicky\u201d Dussart, French writer Fabrice Gaignault, and Bardot herself, we\u2019re getting a peek beyond the curtain. Brigitte Bardot: Intimate features never-before-published images, discovered in a suitcase in Dussart\u2019s attic. Dussart\u2019s close friendship with Bardot allowed for unique access into the actor\u2019s life, illustrating the moments between her silver screen performances and public appearances. Images captured on set show the woman behind the persona, while other shots, taken during moments of leisure, portray the humanity behind the household name. Bardot\u2019s home, La Madrague, in Saint-Tropez, is on display throughout the book, as a setting for the actor to spend time with friends and enjoy her hobbies, such as playing the guitar. <\/p>\n
Perhaps the most personal addition in Intimate is a eulogy, written in Bardot\u2019s looping hand, for Dussart, who passed in 1996. The inclusion of her writing provides context for the relationship between the photographer and star. Elsewhere, background on the photos is filled in with commentary from Bardot herself\u2014combined with a narrative from Gaignault\u2014enhancing the story and allowing for a comprehensive view of Bardot\u2019s previously private life. <\/p>\n
Bardot visiting a feline sanctuary in the Saint-Tropez hinterland with Pierre Dussart (left) and his brother, Emmanuel.<\/p>\n
Bardot during the screening of Contempt in Italy, 1963. <\/p>\n
Artwork by Brigitte Bardot<\/p>\n
Bardot\u2019s eulogy for Dussart, written on June 7, 1996.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Think of Brigitte Bardot, and the word \u201cintimate\u201d doesn\u2019t exactly spring to mind. The French actress, model, singer,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14583,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266],"tags":[13393,595,359,1067,18,117,13392,19,17,432],"class_list":{"0":"post-14582","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-adex-light-bid","9":"tag-art","10":"tag-books","11":"tag-culture","12":"tag-eire","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-homepage","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-ireland","17":"tag-photography"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14582\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}