The Guardian
· collected 2026-09-22 · by Guardian staff and Agence France-Presse
An auction of Brigitte Bardot's personal items in Paris on Monday generated nearly €1 million (£858,000), far exceeding the initial estimate of about €50,000. The collection included over 285 objects such as clothing, furniture, and memorabilia from her homes in Saint-Tropez and Paris. Proceeds will go to Bardot’s animal welfare foundation and her only child. The auction faced criticism from her late husband, Bernard d’Ormale, who felt it was disrespectful to Brigitte's memory, but the foundation defended the sale as a continuation of her legacy and support for animals.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-22,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Personal belongings of late French actress and singer Brigitte Bardot fetched nearly €1 million ($1.15 million) at a four-day auction in Paris ending on Monday, surpassing the initial estimate by almost 20 times. Over 285 items, including Repetto ballet flats, diamond rings, straw hats, sunglasses, and furniture from her homes in Saint-Tropez and Paris, were sold to raise money for her animal charity foundation and her son Nicolas-Jacques Charrier. The auction drew around 15,000 visitors who viewed the items over six days before the sale. Bardot, known as a sex symbol of the 1950s and later an outspoken animal rights activist, died at age 91 in December 2025. Her final husband Bernard d'Ormale, now living in a council flat after being disinherited by her will, criticized the sale for stripping her bare.
Written for “Brigitte Bardot Auction” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.
An auction of the French film star turned animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot’s personal items fetched nearly €1m (£858,000, US$1.15m, A$1.61m) in Paris on Monday, almost 20 times the estimate, according to the auction house Millon.
uncertain
auction → turn → house
A total of 285 objects ranging from straw hats, sunglasses and nightgowns to tableware and furniture from Bardot’s homes in Saint-Tropez in south-eastern France and Paris generated tremendous enthusiasm, Agence France-Presse reported.
asserted
Presse → range → enthusiasm
Bardot, who died in December aged 91, retired from acting in the 1970s and became an outspoken campaigner for animal rights.
asserted
who → die → rights
She also became increasingly active politically on the far right, alienating some fans in her later life with her hardline public views on immigration.
asserted
She → become → immigration
Bardot was convicted five times for hate speech, particularly about Muslims, and up until her death she expressed her contentment at Le Pen’s anti-immigration National Rally party’s rising share of the vote before the 2027 presidential race.
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she → convict → race
The proceeds from the auction will go to her animal welfare foundation and to Nicolas-Jacques Charrier, her only child.
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proceeds → go → Charrier
Founded by the actor in 1986, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation says it has taken in 13,000 animals through four shelters and 150 partner facilities, supports 350 groups in France and operates in 70 countries.
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it → found → countries
About 3,000 French and international bidders registered for the auction.
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bidders → register → auction
“Brigitte Bardot has once again proved to be a remarkable alchemist: she transformed about €50,000 in estimates into nearly €1m including fees,” said the auctioneer, Alexandre Millon.
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auctioneer → prove → fees
Two dog collars, with an ID tag bearing Bardot’s name and a telephone number, estimated at €30 for the pair, were sold for €9,400 to a Russian buyer.
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collars → bear → buyer
A self-portrait fetched nearly €40,000 while the typewriter she used to write an autobiography raised €4,634.
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she → fetch → 4,634
Estimated at between €300 and €500, two of her guitars soared to €8,600 and €1,900, while three stuffed toys representing baby seals sold for nearly €2,200 .
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toys → estimate → 2,200
“This sale is the logical continuation of the one she herself organised in 1987 with her most precious belongings to create her foundation,” Ghyslaine Calmels-Bock, the managing director of the Bardot Foundation, told Agence France-Presse after the sale.
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Bock → organise → sale
“Today, her fight continues through this auction.”
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fight → continue → auction
Two days before the auction Bardot’s last husband, Bernard d’Ormale, attacked it as a “joke”.
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husband → attack → joke
“These are personal items,” he said.
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he → say → ?
He said it amounted to a “disrespect to Brigitte’s memory”.
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it → say → memory
Her belongings should have been preserved as part of her legacy, he told AFP, adding that Bardot “would not have agreed to this sale”.
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Bardot → preserve → sale
The foundation rejected the criticism, saying the auction had been approved by the board in June when the widower was its president.
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widower → reject → June
D’Ormale said he had not understood the auction would involve such personal items.
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auction → say → items
The dispute comes days after he was removed as head of the foundation, a role he had held since Bardot’s death.
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he → come → death
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