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PARIS – The iconic French actress and animal rights champion, Brigitte Bardot, will be laid to rest next week in the picturesque town of Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera—a place she not only called home for over five decades but also helped turn into a symbol of glamour, local officials have announced.
Bardot, the celebrated cinema legend, passed away on Sunday at the age of 91, at her residence in the south of France.
The funeral service is set for January 7 at the Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption Catholic Church. To accommodate the anticipated public interest, the proceedings will be shown on two large screens located at the harbor and the central Place des Lices, as noted by the Saint-Tropez town hall in a statement released on Monday.
After the service, Bardot will be interred in a private ceremony at a cemetery with a view of the Mediterranean Sea. Following this, a public tribute will be held at a nearby location for her admirers to pay their respects.
“Brigitte Bardot will forever be intertwined with the spirit of Saint-Tropez, serving as its most radiant ambassador,” the statement declared. “Her presence, character, and influence have indelibly shaped the history of our town.”
The movie star settled in her Riviera villa, La Madrague, in Saint-Tropez and retired from the film industry in 1973 at age 39.
The so-called marine cemetery, where Bardot’s parents are buried, is also the final resting place of other celebrities, including filmmaker Roger Vadim, Bardot’s first husband.
Bardot’s younger sister, Marie-Jeanne Bardot, known as Mijanou, posted on Facebook a photo of Brigitte at age 12, accompanied by a message honoring “the one I adored more than anything.”
She wrote that Bardot now “knows whether our beloved pets are waiting for us on the other side.
“Let her not be afraid, and let her instead be in the love and joy of reuniting with them all.”
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