Editing Jane Birkin (section)

=== Early acting credits ===
Birkin emerged in the [[Swinging Sixties|Swinging London]] scene of the 1960s, appearing in an uncredited part in ''[[The Knack ...and How to Get It]]'' (1965).<ref>{{cite book|title=The British Invasion|page=155|author=Miles, Barry|year=2009|publisher=Sterling|isbn=978-1-4027-6976-4}}</ref> In 1965 she also appeared in a musical, ''Passion Flower Hotel'', for which John Barry wrote the music.<ref name="Obituary Jane Birkin"/> Barry, aged 30, proposed to 17-year old Birkin but her father forbade it as she was still a minor. They married when she was 18.<ref name="Obituary Jane Birkin"/>

In 1965 she had her first film role in [[Richard Lester]]'s ''The Knack''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2023/07/16/jane-birkin-serge-gainsbourg-hermes-actress-singer/ |title=Obituary Jane Birkin |website=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=17 July 2023|access-date=17 February 2025 }}</ref> She had a small role in [[Michelangelo Antonioni]]'s ''[[Blowup]]'' (1966) with [[Vanessa Redgrave]] and [[Sarah Miles]]. The movie gained notoriety because of Birkin's nude scene, which she later said she did because Barry had told her she would not have the courage to show up naked on set.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Freedom, revolt and pubic hair: why Antonioni's Blow-Up thrills 50 years on |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/mar/10/antonioni-blow-up-50-years-movie-photographer-murder |access-date=20 June 2023 |website=[[The Guardian]]|date=10 March 2017 }}</ref><ref name=":1" /> Birkin also said that on the day of her audition, she had no idea who Antonioni was.<ref name=":1" /> She had a more substantial role in the [[Counterculture of the 1960s|counterculture era]] film ''[[Kaleidoscope (1966 film)|Kaleidoscope]]'' (1966) and a starring role as a fantasy-like model in Joe Massot's cult [[psychedelic art|psychedelic]] [[swinging London]] film ''[[Wonderwall (film)|Wonderwall]]'' (1968).

Birkin met [[Serge Gainsbourg]] when she auditioned for the lead female role in the French film ''[[Slogan (film)|Slogan]]'' in which he was starring (1969).<ref name="Obituary Jane Birkin"/><ref>{{cite news |date=1969 |title=''Slogan'' (AKA ''L'amour et l'amour'') |work=FilmAffinity |url=http://www.filmaffinity.com/en/film251478.html}}</ref> Although she did not speak French<ref>{{cite book |last1=Simmons |first1=Sylvie |url=https://archive.org/details/sergegainsbourgf00simm/page/52 |title=Serge Gainsbourg : a fistful of gitanes : requiem for a twister |date=2002 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-0-306-81183-8 |edition=1st |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |page=[https://archive.org/details/sergegainsbourgf00simm/page/52 52] |url-access=registration}}</ref> she won the role, co-starring alongside Gainsbourg, and she performed with him on the film's theme song, "La Chanson de Slogan", the first of many collaborations between the two. After filming ''Slogan'', Birkin relocated to France permanently.<ref name="cnn">{{cite web |date=3 October 2006 |title=Q & A: Jane Birkin |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/03/16/paris.qa/ |access-date=22 September 2017 |publisher=[[CNN]]}}</ref> She had a role in the French thriller ''[[La Piscine (film)|La Piscine]]'' (1969) and said that the movie had enabled her to stay in France: "The film saved me and enabled me to stay in France. I just finished ''Slogan'' and was due to go back to England."<ref name=":1" /> Though her heavy French accent did prevent her from getting some roles, it turned out to be an asset in her career, as French audiences found it charming. She later stated: "Without my accent, I would have had a different career."<ref name=":1" />