French government officials and local media reported the death of actress, singer, and fashion icon Jane Birkin at the age of 76 Sunday (July 16). The French Culture Ministry called Birkin a "timeless Francophone icon."
The London-born star was widely admired for her fashion style and known for her musical and romantic relationship with French singer Serge Gainsbourg, including the controversial and sexually-explicit song "Je t'aime...moi non plus," according to the Associated Press.
Health Complications
Local media reported that Birkin was found dead inside her Paris home. They also alleged she suffered from health issues in the past few years, which kept her from performing and limiting her public appearances. This included a mild stroke and 2021, which forced her to cancel all her shows that year. She also canceled her shows again in March due to a broken shoulder blade.
French broadcaster and CNN affiliate BFMTV added that Birkin was supposed to return on the road but has been canceled in May due to the singer needing a bit more time and promising her fans she would see them again later this year.
An English Girl in France
Born in London in 1946 to an actor mother and a naval officer father, Birkin started her career in the UK and was once married to the James Bond composer John Barry at age 17. The marriage lasted only three years.
Her career skyrocketed after starring in the 1966 film "Blow-Up" which featured a scene where Birkin appeared nude in a threesome sex scene. She migrated to France in 1968 at the age of 22 to star in the satirical romantic comedy "Slogan," where she met and developed a romantic relationship with Gainsbourg.
The couple were together for 12 years but never married. However, they had a daughter together named Charlotte Gainsbourg, who became an award-winning actor and singer in her own right.
While Birkin split up with Gainsbourg in 1980 and moved on to become the icon behind Hermes's Birkin bag, she remained forever associated with him, who continued to write songs for her until his death in 1991.
Aside from Charlotte, Birkin was survived by singer and actress Lou Doillon, her daughter from her relationship with French director Jacques Doillon. A third daughter, Vogue fashion photographer Kate Barry, died in 2013 at the age of 46.
Beyond Entertainment and the Birkin Bag
Aside from her involvement with music, cinema, and fashion, Birkin was also known for promoting women's and LGBT+ rights in France. She was also involved in pro-democracy and animal rights activism, including sharing her time visiting a refugee camp in Myanmar in 2010.
She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2001 for her services to acting, as well as British-French cultural relations.
Her death made an impact on French society as it has considered Birkin its adopted daughter.
"This departure is so sad," French culture minister Roselyne Bachelot. "She was a beautiful person."
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo also lamented the death of "most Parisian of the English" in the city. "We will never forget her songs, her laughs, and her incomparable accent which always accompanied us," she added.
British ambassador to France Menna Rawlings echoed the sentiment, describing Birkin as "the most French of British artists."
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