W ith great beauty comes great controversy—as if the case with Brigitte Bardot, cinema darling of the French New Wave. As a model, actress, and singer, Bardot was the European sex symbol from the 1950s to 70s. These days, Bardot continues to make headlines—and pay court fines—for her animal work and her shocking comments about the state of France. Take a bow to these 20 scandalous facts about Brigitte Bardot.

Bardot is remembered as the first “liberated” woman represented in pop culture in post-World War II France.

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JIn her 1959 essay “The Lolita Syndrome,” feminist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir referred to Brigitte Bardot as “the locomotive of women’s history.” Not unlike existentialism, Bardot’s success “interrupted” traditional ideas of what French postwar life could be for women. Bardot is remembered as the first “liberated” woman represented in pop culture in post-World War II France.

JBardot was born to a wealthy Catholic family in Paris on September 28, 1934. Her privilege was often dampened by her parents’ conservative moral routine. Bardot wasn’t allowed to choose her own friends and had to refer to her parents in the formal French “vous” as opposed to the familial “tu.”

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JAt the age of just 15, Bob Dylan used Brigitte Bardot as the inspiration for his first original song.

JBardot was born with eye problems. She had decreased vision in her left eye as a result of amblyopia.

JBardot’s childhood took place against the Nazi Occupation of France in World War II. It wasn’t all bad news, at least for Bardot: the military crisis forced her to stay home more often, where she would spend hours dancing to records. Her mother saw her potential, enrolling in her an elite private school that supported her dance efforts. When she was 15 years old, Bardot was accepted in the Conservatoire de Paris.

JBardot began her modeling career in 1949, landing the cover of Elle magazine when she was just 15 years old. It was on this cover that she was “discovered” by director Marc Allégret, who offered her a role in Les Lauriers sont coupés..

Bardot’s conservative parents were vehemently against her becoming an actress. Ballet and modeling were okay, but acting? It wasn’t a respectable profession for their class. It was Bardot’s grandfather who convinced them to support her efforts, classily explain that “If this little girl is to become a whore, cinema will not be a cause.” Thanks?

Bardot didn’t get the role in Marc Allégret’s film, but she did find her future husband. At the failed audition, the young Bardot fell instantly in love with Roger Vadim. Ironically, Vadim was there to inform her that she did not get the part.

Bardot’s first official film role was in Crazy for Love (1952). Although her role was fairly minor—she played the cousin of the main character—the established model was paid 500,000 francs for this small part.

Bardot is naturally a brunette. She didn’t go blonde until her role in the Italian movie Mio figlio Nerone (1956). Back in this day, it was more common to put on a wig instead of outright dyeing your hair for a role. However, Bardot tried the peroxide and liked it so much that she never went back to brown. Is it any coincidence her star started to rise soon after?

Bardot maintained her music career alongside her acting career. Overall, she has produced more than 60 singles over the course of her lifetime, including a duet with Serge Gainsbourg that she begged not to be released to the public.

In 1973, Bardot produced her last joint effort with her ex-husband, Roger Vadim. She plays a “Don Juan”-esque woman who recounts her sexual (and murderous) exploits in the subtly titled Don Juan, or If Don Juan Were a Woman. According to Vadim, this film was about deconstructing the cultural myth of his ex, although he put it in crude terms: “Underneath what people call ‘the Bardot myth’ was something interesting, even though she was never considered the most professional actress in the world […] Brigitte always gave the impression of sexual freedom–she is a completely open and free person, without any aggression. So, I gave her the part of a man–that amused me.”

Right before her 39th birthday in 1979, Brigitte Bardot announced her retirement from acting. She wanted to “get out elegantly.” The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot was her last role.

Bardot has spent her retirement as an active voice for animal rights. She established the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Welfare and Protection of Animals in 1986 and became a vegetarian.

Bardot endorsed Marine le Pen for the 2017 French Presidential election, referring to the National Front party leader as “the Joan of Arc of the 21st century.”

Bardot is also credited with popularizing the bikini in modern culture. One of her most famous appearances at the Cannes Film festival displayed her in this “new” bathing suit, as did her early film roles in the likes of Manina (1952).

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According to Bardot, her father forever treated her and her sister as “strangers” after the two broke his favorite vase. For their accident, each sister received 20 lashes. This incident forever changed the course of her parental relationship and is cited as the cause of Bardot’s rebellious streak.

Bardot’s relationship with Roger Vadim was the latest in a long line of disappointments for her parents. The Bardots were vehemently against the match and insisted that Brigitte finish her education in England. It took a suicide attempt on Bardot’s part—she stuck her head in active oven—to make them budge…at least on the condition that the couple marry when Bardot turned 18.

The Bardot neckline was named after the iconic French actress. Bardot had a personal penchant for open-necked knitted sweaters and jumpers, which inspired this cut of shoulder-exposing and wide-necked jumpers.

Brigitte Bardot had a Canadian fast interceptor vessel named after her, the MV Brigitte Bardot, by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society after coming to condemn the practice of seal-hunting.

If you ask Brigitte Bardot, we shouldn’t have to choose which animals to save. In 2015, she condemned Australia’s plan to euthanize millions of feral cats in order to save their endangered bird and animal species. Even though feral cats were behind 10% of native mammal extinctions in Australia, Bardot called this project “animal genocide” and “absolutely useless, since the rest of them will keep breeding.”

I gave my beauty and my youth to men. I am going to give my wisdom and experience to animals. — Brigitte Bardot

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Brigitte Bardot Bikini by Dolce Liberta