Brigitte Bardot: Four Marriages, Four Divorces, One Icon
The original sex symbol married four times — and each divorce told the story of a changing France.
Key Facts
What Happened
Brigitte Bardot was not just a movie star — she was a cultural earthquake. From her 1956 breakthrough in And God Created Woman to her retirement from acting in 1973, she defined glamour, rebellion, and sexual liberation in post-war France. Her personal life was equally dramatic: four marriages spanning four decades, each reflecting different phases of her extraordinary life and the evolving social norms of France.
Her first marriage to director Roger Vadim in 1952 made her a star but ended in 1957 after she began an affair with co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant. Her second marriage to actor Jacques Charrier in 1959 produced her only child, Nicolas-Jacques, born in 1960 — a son she has been estranged from for most of his life. That marriage ended in 1962 amid Bardot's well-documented struggles with motherhood and depression. Her third marriage to German millionaire playboy Gunter Sachs in 1966 was the most glamorous — he famously courted her by dropping roses from a helicopter onto her Saint-Tropez villa — but lasted only three years before ending in 1969.
Each divorce operated under different practical circumstances. The Vadim divorce was a simple split between two young artists with few assets. The Charrier divorce was complicated by custody of baby Nicolas — Charrier won primary custody, and Bardot's limited involvement with her son became one of the most controversial aspects of her life. The Sachs divorce involved the division of significant wealth, as Sachs was heir to a German industrial fortune.
Bardot's fourth marriage to Bernard d'Ormale in 1992 lasted until her death in December 2025, making it by far her longest relationship at 33 years. D'Ormale, a businessman with controversial far-right political associations, provided the stability that eluded her in her earlier marriages. Bardot's four marriages became a mirror for France's changing attitudes toward marriage, divorce, women's independence, and celebrity.
Legal Breakdown: Serial marriages and the evolving legal landscape of French divorce over four decades
French Divorce Law Across Four Decades
Bardot's divorces spanned a period of enormous legal change in France. Her first three divorces (1957, 1962, 1969) occurred under the fault-based Napoleonic Code system. Her fourth marriage in 1992 occurred after the landmark 1975 divorce reform that introduced mutual consent divorce. This evolution — from fault-based to no-fault — fundamentally changed how French couples could end their marriages.
Custody and the Father's Rights in 1960s France
The Charrier divorce is notable because Jacques Charrier won primary custody of their son Nicolas in 1962. In an era when mothers almost always received custody, this was exceptional and reflected the court's assessment that Bardot's lifestyle and mental health struggles made Charrier the more suitable custodial parent. The case presaged later debates about gender-neutral custody standards.
Wealth Disparity and Cross-Border Complications
The Sachs divorce introduced cross-border complexity — Sachs was German, Bardot was French, and they had assets in multiple countries. Division of an international fortune in the 1960s was far more complicated than today, as there were fewer bilateral agreements governing property division. The specific terms were never disclosed, reflecting French privacy norms.
What This Means for Your Divorce
- →Serial marriages often reflect personal growth and changing needs — each of Bardot's marriages served a different purpose in her life.
- →Custody outcomes are not predetermined by gender: courts can and do award custody to fathers when circumstances warrant it.
- →The legal framework for divorce evolves over time, and couples married in different eras face very different legal landscapes.
- →Long periods between marriages (23 years between Bardot's third and fourth) can lead to the most successful partnerships, as both parties bring maturity and self-knowledge.
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This article is based on publicly available court records, news reports, and legal analysis. It is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by reading this content.
Divorce laws vary by jurisdiction. Always consult a licensed attorney in your area before making legal decisions.