On Sunday, Jane Birkin, a British singer and actress who rose to popularity in France, passed away at the age of 76.
At barely 20 years old and without any knowledge of the French language, Birkin came to her chosen country and spent nearly six decades in the spotlight there. She had a reputation for being France's favourite "anglaise."
When Birkin fell in love with French actor and singer Serge Gainsbourg not long after arriving in Paris, she shot to prominence. Gainsbourg is approximately 20 years older than Birkin, and the two rapidly captured the attention of the general public. The pair frequently worked together professionally, most notably singing together on the sensual duet "Je t'aime... moi non-plus," whose explicit lyrics led to the song's international prohibition.
Jane Birkin was a French icon, according to President Emmanuel Macron, who tweeted quickly after hearing of her passing. "Because she embodied freedom because she sang the most beautiful words in our language, Jane Birkin was a French icon," he said.
Despite being British, Birkin swiftly got to be famous in France as a star in her own right and a fashion icon after her relationship with Gainsbourg made her famous.
She served as the model for Hermes, a French luxury brand, in creating the renowned Birkin bag.In 2017, Lou Doillon, her daughter, told CNN that her mother "represents a very Parisian style, which is funny because she is not."
Although the exact reason of Birkin's passing is unknown, she had been in bad health recently and had suffered a stroke in 2021. One of the actress' final public appearances before her passing was at the premiere of the documentary "Jane by Charlotte," which explores her bond with her daughter Charlotte.
Doillon and Charlotte Gainsbourg, who was Birkin's daughter with Serge, both survive her. Kate Barry, a different daughter, passed away in 2013 at the age of 46.
In 1946, Jane Birkin was born in London. In 1965, she wed the renowned British composer John Barry, although the marriage was short-lived. It was a "really miserable marriage," according to Birkin, and the couple soon divorced.
In 1968, Birkin travelled to Paris to work on the movie "Slogan," where she met Gainsbourg. Gainsbourg later wrote "Je t'aime... moi non plus" for Birkin, and the same year, the song became a worldwide smash.
After acting in more than 70 films and collaborating with some of France's most renowned filmmakers, such as Jean-Luc Godard, Agnes Varda, and Bertrand Tavernier, Birkin went on to become a favourite of the French film industry. In well-known films like Blow Up (1966), La Piscine (The Swimming Pool) in 1969, and Death on the Nile (1978), she played the lead role.
The turbulent relationship between Gainsbourg and Birkin came to an end in 1981, although the two stayed friendly and kept working together on creative endeavours.
For her performance in the movie "La Pirate," directed by Frenchman Jacques Doillon, with whom she later had a daughter, Birkin received her first Cesar nomination, the French version of the Oscars, in 1985.
She also succeeded in establishing a prosperous musical career, releasing numerous recordings in the French language. The death of her first daughter Kate was one of the worst tragedies of her life, and it was explored in depth in her most recent album, "Oh! Pardon tu dormais," which was published in 2020.
Despite Birkin's continuous success in singing, acting, and modelling throughout the years, it was her role in the development of the Birkin bag, one of fashion's most lasting and iconic accessories, that elevated her to the status of a household name.
In a February 2020 interview with Christiane Amanpour, the chief international anchor of CNN, Birkin recalled how a fortuitous meeting with Jean-Louis Dumas, the chairman of Hermes at the time, when they were both travelling on an Air France aircraft to London provided the impetus for the highly sought-after bag that carries her name.
Birkin said Amanpour she had recommended a new design to Dumas as stuff tumbled out of her large Kelly purse, an early version of the style made famous by Grace Kelly.
She remembered making a picture on the vomit bag on the back of the aeroplane seat before suggesting, 'Why don't you make a bag that's sort of four times the (size of the) Kelly that you could simply leave open', she recounted.
Dumas kept his promise, and the Birkin bag debuted in 1984. Rare versions of this iconic and highly sought-after bag still fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction, and British Vogue reports that some 40 years after its introduction, demand for the design still "outstrips supply" in boutiques.
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