New Delhi: Jane Birkin, an actress and singer who made France her home and enchanted the nation with her English grace, easy elegance, and social activity, passed away at the age of 76.
Known for her musical career and her personal partnership with French musician Serge Gainsbourg, the celebrity and fashion icon was a London native. The sultry "Je t'aime moi non plus" (I Love You, Me Neither) was one of their songs that became immensely popular. The duet from 1969, which helped make her famous and was outlawed in Italy after being criticised in the Vatican newspaper, featured Birkin's airy, British-accented singing voice mingling with his gruff baritone.
For many women throughout the world, Birkin's 1960s and early 1970s aesthetic of long hair with fringe, jeans combined with white tops, knit mini skirts and basket bags still represents the pinnacle of French flair.
Hermes bags bearing her name were also associated with Birkin. The Birkin bag, which was created in her honour by the Parisian design house in 1984, quickly rose to the top of the list of the most rare luxury goods in the world, with a sky-high price tag and a protracted waiting list to purchase one.
Birkin's political activism and advocacy for Amnesty International, Myanmar's pro-democracy movement, the battle against AIDS, and other causes were also lauded in her adopted country of France.
In 2008, she marched with five other monks through the Cannes Film Festival to press Myanmar to allow international charity workers into the nation to aid cyclone victims.
She joined other movie and music celebrities in France in 2022 in shaving off a few hairs to show sympathy for Iranian protesters. As anti-government protests erupted in Iran, Charlotte Gainsbourg, who is also an actor in her own right and is Birkin's daughter with Gainsbourg, chopped off a lock of her mother's hair for the "HairForFreedom" campaign.
Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, praised Birkin as a "complete artist," noting how her gentle voice complemented her "ardent" advocacy. He tweeted, "Because she embodied freedom, because she sang the most beautiful words of our language, Jane Birkin was a French icon. A complete artist, her voice was as sweet as her engagements were fiery. She bequeaths us tunes and images that will never leave us."