Jane Birkin was a prolific British and French actress and singer, as well as the inspiration for the sought-after Birkin Bag from Hermès, one of the most exclusive accessories in fashion.
- Died: July 16, 2023 (Who else died on July 16?)
- Details of death: Died in Paris after fighting cancer at the age of 76.
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Jane Birkin’s legacy
As the daughter of an English stage actress and a World War II clandestine naval officer, Birkin was perhaps destined for a fascinating life. The British-born singer and actress became an icon of the French fashion and culture scene in the 1960s and 70s; her name would eventually grace one of the most exclusive fashion accessories in the world, the Birkin Bag. She married composer John Barry at the age of 17; they divorced three years after the birth of their daughter, Kate.
Birkin’s rise as an actress began in the late 1960s, beginning with counterculture films such as “Kaleidoscope,” “Wonderwall,” and a notorious appearance in “Blowup” due to its nudity. She had a hit song with Serge Gainsbourg in 1969, “Je t’aime… moi non plus,” which was banned from radio in several countries due to explicit lyrics. The pair would have a 12-year relationship and a daughter, Charlotte. By the 1970s, she had moved to France, where her performance in Gainsbourg’s directorial debut “Je t’aime moi non plus” earned her a nomination for Best Actress in the Caesar Awards. She also began to model near the end of the decade.
Birkin would continue to model, act, and sing throughout the rest of her career, appearing in a wide array of movies and releasing over a dozen albums. She became a household name among the wealthy when, in 1983, Hermès executive director Jean-Louis Dumas saw her struggling with a small bag on an airplane. Birkin explained her difficulty in finding a leather weekend bag, and Dumas had the luxury design house create a large bag for her. The resulting Birkin Bag has become one of the most sought-after items in fashion, commanding long waiting lists and prices of up to six figures.
Birkin would also work with Amnesty International and in later years became a political activist campaigning against capital punishment and the far right, seeking to expand access to AIDS/HIV-related healthcare, and more. Her advocacy even led her to ask Hermès to remove her name from the Birkin Bag in 2015, citing concerns about how the crocodile skin to make the bags was sourced, although she later rescinded her request.
Notable quote
“My decision to go to France — not Spain or Italy — was driven by my father’s huge admiration for the French Resistance members he’d known during the war.” —from a 2021 interview with The Telegraph
Tributes to Jane Birkin
Full obituary: The New York Times
