Brigitte Bardot’s cause of death confirmed as funeral takes place in Saint-Tropez
Brigitte Bardot‘s husband, Bernard d’Ormale, has revealed the late French screen icon’s cause of death.
Bardot died in Saint-Tropez, France, on December 28th, 2025, aged 91. She was previously hospitalised in October.
Now, d’Ormale, who married Bardot in 1992, has revealed to Paris Match that she was diagnosed with cancer shortly before her death and underwent two major surgeries shortly before her passing. However, d’Ormale did not reveal the specific cancer that Bardot was diagnosed with.
The French businessman also said of his wife’s final words before her passing, “I was half asleep beside her. I sat up when I heard her say ‘Pioupiou,’ that little nickname we used for each other in private, and then it was over.”
He added of his late wife, “A sense of peace and tranquility settled over her face. And she became incredibly beautiful again, just like in her youth. You wouldn’t have believed she was 91.”
Her death was announced by the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, who described her as “a world-renowned actress and singer, who chose to abandon her prestigious career to dedicate her life and energy to animal welfare and her foundation”.
Bardot was laid to rest at a private ceremony at the Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption Catholic Church in Saint-Tropez on January 7th. Although the ceremony was private, it was broadcast on screens across the city.
The actor leaves behind a complicated legacy due to her embrace of far-right politics after retiring from the film industry. Notably, between 1997 and 2008, Bardot was taken to court five times on charges of inciting racial hatred due to Islamophobic comments.
Following her death, France’s President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X, “We are mourning a legend. Her films, her voice, her dazzling fame, her initials, her sorrows, her generous passion for animals, her face that became Marianne – Brigitte Bardot embodied a life of freedom. A French existence, a universal radiance. She touched us. We mourn a legend of the century.”
However, Macron was not invited to Bardot’s funeral. She was a vocal critic of the politician, labelling him an “evil being” and claiming that France had turned into a “rubbish dump” under his leadership.
Marine Le Pen, who formerly served as the leader of France’s far-right National Rally party, was in attendance at Bardot’s funeral, which she said was “in a personal and friendly capacity to express my affection, gratitude and admiration for her, and to be with her husband at this painful time”.
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