Editing Brigitte Bardot (section)

=== Rise to stardom: 1956–1962 ===
[[File:Brigitte_Bardot_Venice_1958.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|Bardot posing for a crowd of photographers during the 1958 [[Venice Film Festival]]]]
[[File:Brigitte Bardot - Screenland (March 1959).png|thumb|left|upright=.7|Bardot featured on the cover of ''[[Screenland]]'', March 1959]]
Bardot then appeared in four movies that made her a star. First up was a musical, ''[[Naughty Girl (film)|Naughty Girl]]'' (1956), where Bardot played a troublesome school girl. Directed by [[Michel Boisrond]], it was co-written by Roger Vadim and was a great success, going on to become the 12th most popular film of the year in France.<ref>[http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.com.au&sl=fr&u=http://www.boxofficestory.com/france-1956-c22750159&usg=ALkJrhhiLGcr7S1Wd-3bM_0zuo9qMV9r9A Box office figures in France for 1956] at Box Office Story</ref> It was followed by a comedy, ''[[Plucking the Daisy]]'' (1956), also written by Vadim. This was succeeded by ''[[The Bride Is Much Too Beautiful]]'' (1956) with [[Louis Jourdan]].

Finally, there was the melodrama ''[[And God Created Woman (1956 film)|And God Created Woman]]'' (1956). The movie was Vadim's debut as director, with Bardot starring opposite [[Jean-Louis Trintignant]] and [[Curt Jurgens]]. The film, about an immoral teenager in an otherwise respectable small-town setting, was an even larger success, not just in France but also around the world, listed among the ten most popular films in Great Britain in 1957.<ref>Most Popular Film of the Year. ''The Times (London, England)'', Thursday, 12 December 1957; pg. 3; Issue 54022.</ref> In the United States the film was the highest-grossing foreign film ever released, earning $4&nbsp;million, which author Peter Lev describes as "an astonishing amount for a foreign film at that time."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lev|first1=Peter|title=The Euro-American Cinema |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TG9ZAAAAMAAJ|year=1993|isbn=978-0-292-76378-4|page=13|publisher=[[University of Texas Press]]}}</ref> It turned Bardot into an international star.<ref name="twolives"/> From at least 1956,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55474324|title=Mam'selle Kitten New box-office beauty|date=5 December 1956|work=Australian Women's Weekly|access-date=5 March 2019|pages=32|via=[[Trove]]}}</ref> she was hailed as the "[[sex kitten]]".<ref name="theguardian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/gallery/2014/sep/20/brigitte-bardot-her-life-and-times-so-far-in-pictures|work=The Guardian|title=Brigitte Bardot: her life and times so far – in pictures|access-date=13 January 2017}}</ref><ref name="time">{{cite web|url=https://time.com/3649602/life-with-brigitte-bardot-rare-and-classic-photos-of-the-original-sex-kitten/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231042624/http://time.com/3649602/life-with-brigitte-bardot-rare-and-classic-photos-of-the-original-sex-kitten/|url-status=live|archive-date=31 December 2014|publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|title=Brigitte Bardot: Rare and Classic Photos of the Original 'Sex Kitten' |date=April 2013 |access-date=13 January 2017}}</ref><ref>The earliest use cited in the [[Oxford English Dictionary#Electronic versions|OED Online]] (accessed 26 November 2011) is in the [[Daily Sketch]], 2 June 1958.</ref> The film scandalized the United States and some theater managers were even arrested just for screening it.<ref name=guardot>{{cite news|last=Poirier|first=Agnès|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/sep/22/brigitte-bardot-french-cinema|title=Happy birthday, Brigitte Bardot|work=The Guardian|date=22 September 2009|access-date=28 December 2020}}</ref>
[[File:Brigitte Bardot - The Sacramento Union (1958).png|thumb|upright=.7|U.S newspaper clipping, 9 February 1958]]
Paul O'Neil of ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' (June 1958) in describing Bardot's international popularity, writes:
<blockquote>In gaining her present eminence, Brigitte Bardot has had certain advantages beyond those she was born with. Like the European sports car, she has arrived on the American scene at a time when the American public is ready, even hungry, for something racier and more realistic than the familiar domestic product.<ref>{{cite web|last1=O'Neil|first1=Paul |title=Critics To The Contrary, B. B.'S Appeal Is Not Limited To Her Body |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t1MEAAAAMBAJ|year=1958|page=57}}</ref><br></blockquote>

During her early career, professional photographer Sam Lévin's photos contributed to the image of Bardot's sensuality. British photographer [[Cornel Lucas]] made images of Bardot in the 1950s and 1960s that have become representative of her public persona.

Bardot followed ''And God Created Woman'' up with ''[[La Parisienne (film)|La Parisienne]]'' (1957), a comedy co-starring [[Charles Boyer]] for director Boisrond. She was reunited with Vadim in another melodrama ''[[The Night Heaven Fell]]'' (1958), and played a criminal who seduced [[Jean Gabin]] in ''[[In Case of Adversity]]'' (1958). The latter was the 13th most seen movie of the year in France.<ref name="box">{{cite web|url=http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.com.au&sl=fr&u=http://www.boxofficestory.com/box-office-brigitte-bardot-c22691591/19&usg=ALkJrhhIEncp1KXspugND8vN3RRD5RUhgA |title=Box office information for Love is My Profession|website=Box office story}}</ref> In 1958, Bardot became the highest-paid actress in the country of France.<ref name="Bricard2020">{{cite web |url=https://www.linternaute.com/cinema/star-cinema/2517851-mariages-sante-les-secrets-de-brigitte-bardot/2517857-un-sex-symbol |title=La naissance d'un sex symbol |trans-title=The birth of a sex symbol |last=Bricard |first=Manon |date=12 October 2020 |website=[[L'Internaute]] |language=fr|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204205720/https://www.linternaute.com/cinema/star-cinema/2517851-mariages-sante-les-secrets-de-brigitte-bardot/2517857-un-sex-symbol |archive-date=4 December 2021 }}</ref>
[[File:Brigitte Bardot 1961.jpg|thumb|upright=.7|Bardot in 1961]]
''[[The Female (1959 film)|The Female]]'' (1959) for director [[Julien Duvivier]] was popular, but ''[[Babette Goes to War]]'' (1959), a comedy set in World War II, was a huge hit, the fourth biggest movie of the year in France.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://translate.google.com/translate?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.com.au&sl=fr&u=http://www.boxofficestory.com/box-office-brigitte-bardot-c22691591/21|title=1959 French box office|website=Box Office Story|access-date=28 August 2016}}</ref> Also widely seen was ''[[Come Dance with Me (1959 film)|Come Dance with Me]]'' (1959) from Boisrond.

Bardot's next film was courtroom drama ''[[La Vérité (film)|The Truth]]'' (1960), from [[Henri-Georges Clouzot]]. It was a highly publicised production, which resulted in Bardot having an affair and attempting suicide. The film was Bardot's biggest commercial success in France, the third biggest hit of the year, and was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best International Feature Film|Academy Award]] for Best Foreign Film.<ref>[http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=search&rurl=translate.google.com.au&sl=fr&u=http://www.boxofficestory.com/box-office-brigitte-bardot-c22691591/23&usg=ALkJrhjiMrG7lbxo6Wu3IvVZsDYW_JPJvA Box office information for film] at Box Office Story</ref> Bardot was awarded a [[David di Donatello]] Award for Best Foreign Actress for her role in the film.<ref name="Roberts2015">{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=Paul G |date=2015 |chapter=Brigitte Bardot |title=Style icons Vol 3 − Bombshells |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6MN3BgAAQBAJ&pg=PT56 |location=Sydney |publisher=Fashion Industry Broadcast |page=56 |isbn= 978-1-6277-6189-5}}</ref>

She made a comedy with Vadim, ''[[Please, Not Now!]]'' (1961), and had a role in the all-star anthology, ''[[Famous Love Affairs]]'' (1962).

Bardot starred alongside [[Marcello Mastroianni]] in a film inspired by her life in ''[[A Very Private Affair]]'' (''Vie privée'', 1962), directed by [[Louis Malle]]. More popular than that was her role in ''[[Love on a Pillow]]'' (1962).