London-born singer and actress Jane Birkin died Sunday at the age of 76, according to sources close to her and police. She was an icon in her adopted France, known for her turbulent relationship with French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, who was 18 years her senior.
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She crossed the Channel in 1968, at the age of 22, to star in a film alongside Gainsbourg, who was 18 years her senior.
It was the start of a 13-year relationship that made them France’s most famous couple, in the spotlight as much for their bohemian and hedonistic lifestyle as for their work.
The doe-eyed Birkin, with her soft voice and androgynous silhouette, quickly became a sex symbol, recording a steamy duo with a growling Gainsbourg in 1969, “Je t’aime… moi non plus”.
Banned on radio in several countries and condemned by the Vatican, the song was a worldwide success.
“He and I became the most famous of couples in that strange way because of ‘Je t’aime’ and because we stuck together for 13 years and he went on being my friend until the day he died. Who could ask for more?” Birkin told CNN in 2006.
“So Paris became my home. I’ve been adopted here. They like my accent,” she said.
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Pie in the face
Birkin was born in London on December 14, 1946 to a naval officer and actress.
At 17 she married James Bond composer John Barry, with whom she had a daughter, Kate, but the marriage lasted only three years.
Her film debut in 1966 made waves with her full frontal nude scene in the swinging sixties classic “Blow Up” by Michelangelo Antonioni.
After meeting Gainsbourg, 18 years her senior, in Paris on the set of a romantic comedy – he was her co-star – she moved to France permanently.
Their musical and romantic relationship was tempestuous.
During one of their raging rows, Birkin tossed herself into the River Seine after throwing a custard pie in Gainsbourg’s face.
They had a daughter, Charlotte, who herself became a hugely successful actress and singer.
Read moreCharlotte Gainsbourg confronts showbiz lineage in intimate documentary
Life after Gainsbourg
Birkin finally walked out on France’s favourite bad boy in 1980 and went onto to blaze her own trail.
In cinema she branched out from more ditsy roles to arthouse productions, gaining three nominations at the Cesars – France’s Oscars – starting with “La Pirate” in 1985.
In her around 70 films she has been directed by such of France’s leading directors, including Bertrand Tavernier, Jean-Luc Godard, Alain Resnais, James Ivory and Agnes Varda.
But she remained forever associated with Gainsbourg, who continued to write songs for her after their split, including “Les dessous chic” about lingerie being used to try cover up a relationship on the rocks.
“It’s the most beautiful song about separation you could ever have,” Birkin told AFP in a 2018 interview.
A chronic alcoholic, Gainsbourg died of a heart attack in 1991 aged 62.
A few years earlier he was in the audience to hear Birkin perform her first solo concert at the age of 40 at the Bataclan theatre in Paris.
In 1998 came her first record without Gainsbourg, “A la Legere”.
But she repeatedly returned to his repertoire, singing his hits accompanied by a full orchestra around the world, including in 2020 in New York where she performed with Iggy Pop.
The English rose of French chanson became something of a national treasure, who preserved the accent that made the French swoon throughout her life and an endearing air of fragility.
Her life was marked by tragedy, with her eldest daughter Kate Barry, a photographer, apparently committing suicide in 2013.
She fought leukaemia in the late 1990s and in 2021 suffered a minor stroke.
Read moreFrench music icon Serge Gainsbourg’s legacy continues to inspire
The Birkin bag
With her flared jeans, mini dresses and messy bangs, Birkin was the ultimate It girl in the 1970s.
In 1984, Hermes named one of its handbags after her.
She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2001 for her services to acting and British-French cultural relations.
Besides Charlotte and Kate she had another daughter, singer Lou Doillon, from her 13-year relationship with French director Jacques Doillon.
Read moreJane Birkin asks Hermès to remove her name from iconic bag over “cruel” crocodile farming
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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