Brigitte Bardot, 89, makes rare public appearance as she goes for a drive in the south of France after suffering health scare

Brigitte Bardot was seen making a rare public appearance last week as she went for a drive in the south of France.

The French actress was pictured behind the wheel of an old white minivan on the day of her 89th birthday. 

Brigitte drove from her luxury villa La Madrague in Saint-Tropez to her property in La Garigue.

She sported a black long-sleeved top and a pair of oversized sunglasses, while sweeping her blonde hair up in a messy bun. 

Her outing comes after emergency services rushed to her home in July after she suffered some difficulties breathing.

Out and about: Brigitte Bardot was seen making a rare public appearance last week as she went for a drive in the south of France

Milestone: The French actress was pictured behind the wheel of an old white minivan on the day of her 89th birthday

Drive: Brigitte drove from her luxury villa La Madrague in Saint-Tropez to her property in La Garigue

Her husband, Bernard d’Ormale, confirmed the news and clarified what happened shortly after the incident occurred at their Saint-Tropez residence.

He told Var-matin: ‘It was around 9 a.m. when Brigitte had trouble breathing,’ noting that ambulances in the south of France initially ‘got the wrong’ address.

He continued: ‘[Her breathing] was stronger than usual but she did not lose consciousness. Let’s call it a moment of respiratory distraction.’

Bernard confirmed that once emergency services arrived they put Brigitte on oxygen ‘and stayed to watch her’ for a while.

He said: ‘Like all people of a certain age, she can no longer bear the heat. It happens at 88 years old. She must not make useless efforts.’

Brigitte starred in 47 films before she quit the movie industry in 1973.

Born and raised in Paris, she was an aspiring ballerina before she started working as a fashion model and actress.

She was just 15 when she graced the cover of Elle magazine in 1950, which launched her acting career. 

Stylish:  She sported a black long-sleeved top and a pair of oversized sunglasses, while sweeping her blonde hair up in a messy bun

Health scare: Her outing comes after emergency services rushed to her home in July after she suffered some difficulties breathing

Update: Her husband, Bernard d’Ormale, confirmed the news and clarified what happened shortly after the incident occurred at their Saint-Tropez residence

Emergency: Bernard confirmed that once emergency services arrived they put Brigitte on oxygen ‘and stayed to watch her’ for a while

Shortly after, Brigitte met her first husband, filmmaker Roger Vadim, at an audition. She didn’t get the role, but she and Roger fell madly in love. 

Despite the initial disapproval of her family, they married in 1952, when she was 18 and he was 24.

Brigitte shot to fame and became an international sex symbol after playing a sexually liberated young woman in the 1956 film And God Created Woman.

She and Roger divorced the following year, but they went on to work together in the 1958 movie The Night Heaven Fell.

In 1959, she tied the knot with Jacques Charrier, and they had a son, Nicolas, together before splitting up in 1962. 

Four years later, she wed German millionaire Gunter Sachs, but they divorced in 1969.

Since retiring from acting, she has devoted herself to the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which is dedicated to animal protection.

Brigitte launched the organization in Saint-Tropez, a coastal town on the French Riviera, in 1986 with money raised from selling off her jewelry.

Stardom: Brigitte shot to fame and became an international sex symbol after playing a sexually liberated young woman in the 1956 film And God Created Woman

Stunning: The star was just 15 when she graced the cover of Elle magazine in 1950, which launched her acting career, and starred in 47 films before her retirement

All change: She quit the movie industry in 1973 and now runs an animal sanctuary in the French Riviera resort of St Tropez (pictured in 2007) 

The actress-turned-animal rights activist has been married to far-right political aide Bernard since 1992.

Brigitte has become a controversial figure in recent years and has been fined six times for ‘inciting racial hatred’ with her writings about animal abuse.

In 2019, she launched a rambling attack against the inhabitants of La Reunion, one of France’s overseas territories spread across the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean, in response to what she saw as their mistreatment of animals.

Brigitte called the Indian Ocean islanders ‘savages’ and was later fined €20,000, about $23,000, by a French court in 2021.

Her spokesman Bruno Jacquelin was also fined by the court in the main town of Saint-Denis de la Reunion 4,000 euros (£3,400) for his role in sending the statement to several media outlets at her request.

‘The natives have kept their savage genes,’ the animal rights campaigner wrote in an open letter attacking the islanders for their treatment of animals, describing locals as ‘degenerate savages’.

She took aim at the island’s Hindu Tamil population for sacrificing goats, evoking the ‘cannibalism of past centuries’ as she lashed ‘a degenerate population still soaked in barbarous ancestral traditions’.

Brigitte has also been convicted in the past over her comments about Muslims.

Couple: The actress-turned-animal rights activist has been married to far-right political aide Bernard d’Ormale since 1992 (pictured together in 1994)

France’s then overseas territories minister Annick Girardin told her in a letter at the time after her comments on Le Reunion ‘that racism is not an opinion, it’s an offence’.

Didier Robert, President of the Reunion region, previously described Brigitte as ‘irresponsible, outrageous and contemptuous’.

He said her letter contained deeply racist terms that were ‘absolutely unacceptable’.

Animal rights activists say abuse of animals is common on the island and that animal sacrifice is tolerated in some religious ceremonies. 

Brigitte is a close friend of Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the FN, who has been convicted for anti-Semitism, racism and Holocaust denial. His daughter, Marine Le Pen, now runs the party. 

Controversy: Brigitte has become a controversial figure in recent years and has been fined six times for ‘inciting racial hatred’ with her writings about animal abuse (pictured in 2007)

Source: Read Full Article