One of the world's greatest beauties is turning 82 today!
Bardot retired from acting in 1973 aged 39, and never went back. In 1986 she sold her jewellery to set up the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Welfare and Protection of Animals.
She has spoken out against seal hunting in Canada, the killing of dolphins in the Faroe Islands and the consumption of horsemeat in France. Bardot has donated more than £100,000 to sterilise and re-home stray dogs in Bucharest and in 1999 accused the Chinese of "torturing bears and killing the world's last tigers and rhinos to make aphrodisiacs."
Her views on immigration and gay rights have got her into trouble. She has been convicted five times of inciting racial hatred through her writings. During the 2008 US presidential election she railed against Republican candidate Sarah Palin, branding her "stupid" and "a disgrace to women."
