Brigitte Bardot made her estranged son Nicolas-Jacques Charrier a promise before her death after admitting she’d rather ‘give birth to a dog’.
The actress, who was best known as an international sex symbol before turning to animal rights activism, passed away aged 91 after a hospital stay in Toulon.
Brigitte gave birth to her son Nicolas while married to actor Jacques Charrier in 1960, with whom she starred in the film ‘Babette Goes to War.’
At the time, she expressed that the pregnancy was the greatest tragedy, and she never accepted motherhood.
‘I looked at my flat, slender belly in the mirror like a dear friend upon whom I was about to close a coffin lid,’ she wrote in her memoir.
After her inevitable divorce from Jacques in 1962, Nicolas did not see his mother for decades due to her harsh remarks.
Brigitte Bardot made her estranged son Nicolas-Jacques Charrier a promise before her death after admitting she’d rather ‘give birth to a dog’ (pictured with her son in 1960)
Nicolas-Jacques had an estranged relationship with his mother after she failed to accept motherhood (her son pictured in 2002)
Her son later sued the actress for defamatory statements and non-payment of alimony.
However, in the final years of her life, Brigitte appeared to change her approach to speaking publicly about the rift between her and Nicolas-Jacques.
‘I promised Nicolas I would never talk about him in my interviews,’ she said in an interview with Paris Match, published in June 2024.
While Brigitte and Jacques were in the spotlight, Nicolas maintained a private life away from the cameras.
Now, 65, he is a businessman, known for founding the children’s brand Choupette with his wife and Norwegian model Anne-Line Bjerkan.
The couple welcomed daughters Théa and Anna together, and later became grandparents to three children.
In the same interview with Le Point last year, Brigitte revealed she has two granddaughters and three great-grandchildren.
‘Yes, I’m the great-grandmother of three little Norwegian children who don’t speak French and whom I rarely see,’ she explained.
Brigitte gave birth to her son Nicolas while married to actor Jacques Charrier in 1960, with whom she starred in the film ‘Babette Goes to War’ (pictured 1959)
In the final years of her life, Brigitte appeared to change her approach to speaking publicly about the rift between her and Nicolas-Jacques
‘I promised Nicolas I would never talk about him in my interviews,’ she said in a 2024 interview
Brigitte was reclusive in her final years, instead preferring to remain out of the spotlight at her secluded and very private property in Saint Tropez (pictured in 2001)
Brigitte had suffered a great deal of ill health in recent months, and was frequently admitted to hospital.
In October, she was forced to release a statement confirming she was not dead, after an influencer put out a false report.
She took to X to announce: ‘I don’t know who the idiot is who started this fake news about my disappearance this evening, but know that I am fine and that I have no intention of bowing out. A word to the wise’.
She was soon back at her home in Saint-Tropez following three weeks of treatment for an unspecified condition.
The star, who married and divorced three times before settling with her fourth husband Bernard d’Ormale in 1992, retired from acting in 1973 to focus on her passionate animal rights activism.
But she drew controversy with her engagement in far-right politics, which saw her endorse National Rally leader Marine Le Pen and be fined six times for inciting racial hatred.
The star was reclusive in her final years, instead preferring to remain out of the spotlight at her secluded and very private property in Saint Tropez.
