With the internet abuzz with false reports of the demise of the 91-year-old French actress, Brigitte Bardot swiftly stepped into the digital realm to set the record straight, her voice firm and unyielding. "I don't know which mischief-maker spread this fake news about my passing tonight," she wrote on October 22 via a translation on X, her tone resolute. "But rest assured, I am doing well and have no intention of taking my final bow." She concluded with a wry, "A word to the wise."
Bardot's clarification follows hot on the heels of a confirmation by French newspaper Var-Matin on October 17 that the And God Created Woman star had been recuperating in a private hospital in Toulon, France's southeastern city, after undergoing surgery for a "serious illness." Despite the gravity of her condition, Var-Matin reported that Bardot was expected to be released from the hospital in late September to recover at her home in St. Tropez.
This latest health battle for the singer comes two years after emergency services were called to her home in 2023. At that time, Bernard d'Ormale, Bardot's husband of over 30 years, recounted her struggle to breathe. "It was around 9 o'clock when Brigitte had trouble breathing," d'Ormale told Var-Matin. "It was stronger than usual, but she didn't lose consciousness...the firefighter came and gave her oxygen and then stayed to monitor her." The incident, which occurred in July, led d'Ormale to speculate that the cause could be related to the heat, a common plight for those of a certain age.
Bardot was one of the first French stars to achieve international fame before she left it behind in 1973—with The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot becoming her last film project—to focus on her true passion: animal rights. "It's what I dreamed of," she told Vanity Fair in 2012. "It's what I always wanted." And as she has aged, Bardot has never shied away from acknowledging her years. In fact, her work with animals has given her a true purpose. "I don't feel old or used up and I don't have time to waste thinking about aging," she added to the outlet, "because I live only for my cause."
