Jane Birkin, an actress and singer who charmed France with her English grace, style, and accented French and made the country her home, has died. She was 76 and died at her home in Paris, according to France's Culture Ministry and French media. The London-born star was widely admired for her fashion style and known for her musical and romantic relationship with French singer Serge Gainsbourg, per the AP. Their songs included the steamy "Je t'aime moi non plus," with Birkin's ethereal, British-accented singing voice interlacing with his gruff baritone. That song was a global hit and UK No. 1, though it was banned on radio in several countries and denounced by the Vatican for its sexual lyrics, per the Guardian.
A role in the 1966 film Blow-Up made her famous. At age 22, she then met Gainsbourg when they appeared in Slogan. "He and I became the most famous of couples in that strange way because of 'Je t'aime' and … he went on being my friend until the day he died," Birkin once told CNN. "Who could ask for more?" They were a couple for 12 years and had a daughter, Charlotte, who is an actress and singer. Birkin appeared in about 70 films, working with top French directors such as Jean-Luc Godard and Bertrand Tavernier. Other films included 1966's Kaleidoscope and 1978's Death on the Nile. She moved on from ditsy characters to roles in arthouse productions, three of which brought her French award nominations.
Birkin also was celebrated in France for her political activism, working on behalf of democracy and animal rights, per the BBC. In 2022, she joined other screen and music stars in France for a campaign in which they cut off locks of their hair in support of protesters in Iran. Birkin became a fashion influencer in France, per CNN, and inspired the famed Birkin bag by French luxury house Hermes. The Culture Ministry on Sunday called Birkin a "timeless Francophone icon."
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