Brigitte Bardot, the French screen legend famous for her beauty muse status and (often controversial) activism, has died aged 91.

Born in Paris in 1934, Bardot had initially intended to pursue a career as a ballet dancer. However, after appearing in a fashion show in 1949 and, subsequently, in French fashion magazine Jardin des Modes, she was discovered by French actor, writer and director Roger Vadim – who suggested her for the film Les Lauriers Sont Coupés and whom she later married. That film was never made, but it encouraged her to consider a career as an actress and – after several smaller roles – her career was launched when Vadim cast her in his controversial 1956 film And God Created Woman. She starred opposite Kirk Douglas in 1953’s Un Acte D'Amour, which propelled her into the international spotlight. Her killer curves and super-feminine sexuality lead to Bardot being dubbed a “sex kitten” and developing an almost cult-like following of male audiences. She retired from acting in 1973 and lived in the South of France, where she ran her animal rights charity Foundation Brigitte Bardot.