Update your settings

If you were a young man in the fifties or sixties, chances are your heart skipped a beat for Brigitte Bardot. The French siren with sun-kissed hair, a pout that launched a thousand daydreams, and a walk that stopped traffic. She wasn’t just a sex symbol—she was the sex symbol. But Bardot’s been quiet for over a decade, slipping away from the public gaze to the quiet corners of Saint-Tropez, until now.

Pouty lips, sensual gaze, and a mega-mane of blonde hair. The French actress (here in an undated photo) became an icon in the 1950s.

At 90, Bardot has given her first television appearance in eleven years, inviting viewers into her beloved home, La Garrigue. The interview aired on French network BFM TV, revealing a woman still full of life, humor, and defiance. “I’ve been photographed and filmed a lot in my life,” Bardot said with a smile, “and now I want nature, peace, and quiet.” She isn’t retreating out of vanity. “I had nothing left to say,” she insisted, though clearly that’s changed.

From mornings at her seaside escape La Madrague—a gift from her time with Gunter Sachs—to afternoons at her rustic farmhouse, Bardot now lives on her own terms. No cell phone, no computer, no social media. “I don’t know how those things work,” she said cheerfully. And as for her 90th birthday? “I was happy to go to bed early. Not even a glass of champagne.”

The playboy and the film goddess (then 32). Gunter Sachs (then 34, died in 2011 at the age of 78) showered 1,000 roses from a helicopter for their engagement. They married in Las Vegas in 1966, but the marriage was short-lived.

There’s a tenderness in her voice when she reflects on lost friends. “At 90, you don’t have any friends anymore,” she said, naming Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo as departed companions. But the sparkle returns when she talks about her real passion: animals. Bardot hasn’t thought about her film career in years. “I don’t think about my life as an actress, but I don’t deny it.” Since 1986, her foundation has fought to end animal cruelty, with her latest focus on banning horseback hunting in France.

She also hasn’t shied away from controversy. On feminism: “Feminism isn’t my thing. I like real men!” she said, taking a jab at modern sensibilities. And on Gérard Depardieu, now convicted of sexual assault: “Look what happens to Depardieu, who has talent—he grabs a woman’s buttocks and is banished!”

Her comment lands as sharply as ever—unapologetic, unfiltered, and unmistakably Bardot. Even at 90, Brigitte Bardot remains an icon in retreat, but never irrelevant. She may have walked away from the camera, but the world hasn’t stopped watching.