kicked off a match in which Pele played, skied, criticized the organization of the Olympic Games in Paris
Article by Luminița Paul – Published on Sunday, 28 December 2025, 13:27 / Updated on Sunday, 28 December 2025 13:29
Brigitte Bardot, one of the icons of world cinema, has passed away at the age of 91, her foundation announced. The star of “And God Created Woman”, “The Truth” or “Viva Maria!” he had sporadic connections with the sport, but had a penchant for alpine skiing, then shared the honor and the fun with Pele before a football match.
An undisputed star of European and world cinema to this day, although he retired from the cameras in 1973, Brigitte Bardot passed away at the age of 91, the foundation that bears his name announced on December 28.
For several decades, she represented the myth, the emblem, gaining a global aura and seeing her personal life exposed to the last detail. She starred in 47 films between 1952 and 1973, some memorable, others polar opposite, she was married to the no less famous director Roger Vadimalways offering reasons to be admired and criticized, BB also had sporadic connections with sports.
In the beginning, Bardot wanted to be a ballerina, revealed to Studio Magazine her agent, Olga Horstig, then she met Roger Vadim and changed ballet to dance. “I was very talented, flexible, long back, long lean muscles, graceful“, Brigitte herself recalled in her memoirs, published in 1996 under the title “Initiales BB”. “Dance gave me the strength to endure, it gave me a walk, a very personal one. He taught me discipline, physical courage“, she added.
Mountains have always played an important role in the life of the French actress. The first husband, Roger Vadim, was a lover of the slopes, as was the third, Gunter Sachsformer European bobsleigh champion as a junior. Sachs preferred the slopes of Saint-Moritz, while Bardot had a soft spot for Meribel.
Brigitte Bardot on the slopes and an unexpected meeting
From the 1960s, she rented a cottage in the Savoyard resort almost every year. There he also had the opportunity to cross paths with a future president of France. “Not being a champion skier, I was sitting more on my bottom than on my feet“, she recalled with humor in the same memoirs, quoted by L'Equipe. “Charly, my German Shepherd, was accompanying me. In this rather unpleasant position I met Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. Seeing me like this and thinking I was being attacked by a dog, he rushed at me, slipped, Charly pounced on him and bit him on the calf“, she narrated the whole incident.
Brigitte Bardot on the slopes in the 1970s Photo: Imago Images
At that time, the profile magazines were full of photos of BB on the slopes, but also with photo shoots in which he presented the fashion of the winter season.
With Pele at a charity match
Later, he had the opportunity to meet the great Brazilian footballer Peleanother global, sports legend, this time. On 31 March 1971, he was in Colombes with his team, Santos, for a charity match, the proceeds from tickets and donations going to cancer research.
They faced a team composed of players from Marseille and Saint-Etienne. And George Craventhe future creator of the Cesar Awards, had the brilliant idea to invite Brigitte Bardot to kick off the party, to increase the publicity of the initiative.
Brigitte Bardot and Pele in 1973
“It was funny but unfortunately there was a wall of photographers and when I kicked the ball it landed right in front of one of them“, she humorously recounted in her memoir. “Pele, who was adorable, was laughing with tears and so was I“, she added, also recounting that she had great emotions and that she had to take refuge in the dressing room to avoid the effects of her presence at that match. “A nightmare“, BB concluded.
Against the organization of the Olympic Games in Paris 2024
More recently, true to her animal protection work, Bardot declared in 2023 that she is “a madness” for Paris to host the 2024 Olympics, expressing concern after the violent scenes at the 2022 UEFA Champions League final that took place around the Stade de France.
“The first thing Paris should have done would have been to refuse the Olympics“, she declared for L'Équipe.
“It is an additional madness that comes at a crucial moment, when Paris is disfigured, when the debt we owe is abysmal, when the violence unleashed is unchecked, when the dramatic events that took place at the Stade de France have not yet been resolved“, adding a colorful simile: “If you want to pull a slope bigger than your ass, you risk ending up in insurmountable rubble“.
“As for the animals and especially the horses, they will once again be the first victims of this relentless desire to 'defend'”, concluded Brigitte Bardot.
