Brigitte Bardot, a famous French actor and animal-rights activist, has died. She was 91.
The Brigitte Bardot Foundation said in a statement on the 28th, "We announce with deep sadness the death of Madame Brigitte Bardot, a globally renowned actor and singer, and the founder and president of the Foundation."
The foundation added, "She decided to set aside a distinguished career in the entertainment industry and devote her life and energy to animal welfare and the foundation's work." However, it did not specify the time or place of death.
After her acting career, Bardot devoted herself to animal-rights advocacy and became one of France's leading animal-rights activists, but she was also at the center of controversy several times during her life. In 1997, she was fined for inciting racial hatred after making remarks targeting foreigners and Muslims in a letter sent to the French daily Le Figaro.
In her 2003 book "A Cry in Silence," she portrayed immigrants, sexual minorities, and the Islamic community in discriminatory terms, sparking social controversy. In 2001, she also drew criticism in Korea after describing the country's dog-meat food culture as "barbaric" during a phone interview with the MBC radio program Son Seok-hee's Focus.
Meanwhile, Bardot was taken to a hospital two years ago with symptoms of breathing difficulties, and last month she was reportedly hospitalized and treated at a hospital in Toulon in southern France due to deteriorating health.