British singer, actress and style icon Jane Birkin has died at the age of 76, several French media reported on Sunday.
Earlier this year, both in March and in May, Birkin had cancelled all of her concerts due to health reasons, including a fractured shoulder, and while she announced that she hoped to return to the stage in the autumn of 2023, her condition deteriorated, leading to her death. According to Le Parisien newspaper, she was found dead by her carer in her home in the French capital.
Birkin was born on 14 December 1946 in the London neighbourhood of Marylebone. Her mother was an actress, and she herself was cast by English music writer John Barry for her first musical "Passionflower hotel" at the young age of 17. She married Barry at 19, and the couple had one child together named Kate Barry. Two years later, their relationship ended.
That same year, she took her first real steps in the film world. At the age of 22, she moved to France to audition for the female lead in the film "Slogan", with 40-year-old Serge Gainsbourg as her counterpart. It was her amorous relationship with the French singer/actor that really threw her into the spotlight. The two sang the well-known duet Je T’aime,…Moi Non Plus in the late 1960s and recorded another album together later on.
Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin at a press conference in Brussels. Credit: Belga Archives
Together, they had one daughter, Charlotte Gainsbourg, but several years later, In 1980, Birkin left Gainsbourg and began a relationship with French director Jacques Doillon, with whom she had her third daughter in 1982: Lou. In the coming years, she starred in the films "La fille prodigue", "La Pirate" and the Agatha Christie films "Death on the Nile".
However, Gainsbourg remains a key part of Birkin's life. Gainsbourg's died on 2 March 1991, and it is believed her grief over his death caused her split with Doillon.
Birkin performs at Couleur Cafe in Brussels music festival in 2005. Credit: Belga/ Virginie Lefour
Aside from her career as a singer and actor, Birkin was above all a style icon for many women, setting the tone for feminine Paris and far beyond with her personality and her nonchalance, and was later the inspiration for Hermès' black leather bag: the Birkin Bag, for which there are still long waiting lists to this day. She also dedicated herself to charity through various causes.
