PARIS (AP) – Actress and singer Jane Birkin, who charmed France with her English grace, style and accented French and made the country her home, has died at age 76, 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.
French singer and songwriter Serge Gainsbourg and his partner British singer and actress Jane Birkin in the courtyard of the French National College of Fine Arts, in Paris. (Photo by Jacques Haillot/Apis/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)
Their songs notably included the steamy “Je t’aime moi non plus,” with Birkin’s ethereal, British-accented singing voice interlacing with his gruff baritone.
She was also celebrated in France for her political activism. In 2022, she joined other screen and music stars in France in chopping off locks of their hair in support of protesters in Iran. Charlotte Gainsbourg, Birkin’s daughter with Gainsbourg, cut off a lock of her mother’s hair for that filmed campaign.
CANNES, FRANCE – JULY 08: Charlotte Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin attend the “Jane Par Charlotte (Jane By Charlotte)” photocall during the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 08, 2021 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
The French Culture Ministry tweeted that Birkin died Sunday. It hailed her as a “timeless Francophone icon.”
French news outlets Liberation and BFM TV reported that Birkin was found dead at her home in Paris French newspaper Le Figaro reported that Birkin had suffered from health issues in the past few years that kept her from performing and her public appearances became sparse.
English actress and singer Jane Birkin, UK, November 1974. (Photo by R. Viner/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
BFM TV said Birkin suffered a mild stroke in 2021, forcing her to cancel shows that year. She canceled her shows again in March due to a broken shoulder blade.