Brigitte Bardot's Personal Items Fetch Nearly €1 Million at Auction

Personal belongings of French screen legend Brigitte Bardot sold for nearly €1 million at auction in Paris, far exceeding initial estimates. The collection of 185 items, including personal effects from her Saint-Tropez home and Paris apartment, fetched approximately 20 times the estimated value of €50,000.

The auction, which drew around 3,000 registered bidders from France and internationally, included items such as straw hats, sunglasses, nightgowns, tableware, and furniture. Proceeds from the sale are designated for the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for animal welfare and her only child, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier.

Brigitte Bardot died in December at the age of 91. Her fourth and final husband of 30 years, Bernard d'Ormale, who was disinherited and now resides in a council flat, has publicly condemned the auction. He called the sale a 'joke' and 'disrespect to Brigitte's memory,' arguing that her personal items should have been preserved rather than sold.

However, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation stated that the auction was approved by its board in June, with Mr. d'Ormale serving as its president at the time. The foundation asserted that the sale is a continuation of Bardot's own efforts to raise funds for her foundation, which she established in 1986 to support animal welfare initiatives. The foundation has assisted thousands of animals and supports hundreds of organizations globally.

Mr. d'Ormale later claimed he had not fully understood the extent to which personal items would be included in the sale and that Bardot would not have approved. He was recently removed as head of the foundation, a role he had held since Bardot's death.

Among the items sold, two dog collars with Bardot's name and her home's telephone number, initially estimated at €30, fetched €9,400. A self-portrait by Bardot sold for nearly €40,000, and the typewriter she used for her autobiography went for €4,634. Two of her guitars sold for €8,600 and €11,900 respectively, and three stuffed toys representing baby seals brought in nearly €2,200.

Bardot, who rose to fame in the 1950s, retired from public life in 1973. Beyond her acting career, she recorded 70 songs. She was married four times and had one son, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier, with her second husband, actor Jacques Charrier. Bardot's public life also included periods of activism and convictions for inciting racial hatred later in her life.