Brigitte Bardot is shutting down rumors about her death.
The legendary French actress, 91, said she is doing well in an X post on Wednesday, October 22, after a rumor began circulating on social media that she had died.
“I don’t know which idiot started this fake news about my disappearance tonight, but know that I’m fine and I have no intention of bowing out. A word to the wise,” she wrote in French.
Bardot’s post comes just a week after French newspaper Var-Matin reported the actress was recuperating at home in Saint-Tropez, France, after a three-week hospital stay.
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The outlet reported that Bardot underwent surgery for a “serious illness” and was in a “worrying condition,” citing unnamed sources.
Bardot’s office later confirmed to Reuters that she was recovering at home after undergoing what the news agency described as a “minor surgery that went well.” The star wished to thank staff and surgeons at the Saint-Jean Private Hospital in Toulon, Reuters reported on Friday, October 17.
An icon of French cinema, Bardot began acting at age 17 and gained international acclaim for her role in 1956’s And God Created Woman, in which she played a sexually liberal character. The actress’ daring roles and modeling work earned her a reputation as a “sex kitten.”
Bardot retired from acting in 1973 at age 39, saying at the time that she wanted “a way to get out elegantly.”
The star went on to found the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, devoting her post-acting life to animal rights and protection.
Bardot was previously hospitalized just over two years ago when she suffered respiratory problems during a July 2023 heat wave. Emergency services arrived at Bardot’s Saint-Tropez home to treat her for difficulty breathing.
“It was around 9 a.m. when Brigitte had trouble breathing,” Bardot’s husband, Bernard d’Ormale, told the Var-Matin newspaper. “It was harder than usual, but she didn’t lose consciousness. Let’s call it a moment of respiratory distraction. The firefighters arrived, gave her oxygen to breathe, and stayed for a moment to watch her.”
D’Ormale noted that the couple’s house had air conditioning, but it “was not very strong.”
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“Like all people of a certain age, she can no longer bear the heat,” the star’s husband added. “It happens at 88; she must not make unnecessary efforts. Her pulse is fine, her heart too, and her blood pressure is good, but things remain fragile.”
Bardot married d’Ormale in 1992 and has previously been married three times. She was wed to And God Created Woman writer and director Roger Vadim from 1952 to 1957. She later married actor Jacques Charrier, with whom she shares her only child, Nicolas, in 1959. Bardot and Charrier divorced in 1962. The actress married industrial heir Gunter Sachs in 1966, though they divorced just three years later in 1969.
The actress famously didn’t want to be a mother, once saying in an interview, “I’m not made to be a mother. I’m not adult enough. I know it’s horrible to have to admit that, but I’m not adult enough to take care of a child.”