Ammon News - French film legend Brigitte Bardot has died at 91, her foundation said Sunday.

In the early days, when her curves, kohl-rimmed eyes and pout were plastered on French film posters, the actress known widely by her initials BB drew comparisons with Marilyn Monroe.

But from one day to the next in 1973 she turned her back on celebrity to look after abandoned animals, saying she was "sick of being beautiful every day".

In her brief film career, Bardot enjoyed a string of popular successes, without garnering much critical acclaim.

Most of her 50-odd films were fun but forgettable flops – with a few exceptions.

In 1956 she set the screen alight as an 18-year-old caught up in a love triangle in "And God Created Woman", directed by her then husband Roger Vadim.

Born on September 28, 1934 in Paris, Bardot was raised in a well-off traditional Catholic household.

Married four times, she had one child, Nicolas, with her second husband, actor Jacques Charrier.

Animal activism became the dominant feature of her life after film, as she retreated into a hermit-like existence in the French Riviera resort of Saint-Tropez at the age of just 39.

France 24