Jane Birkin was a worldly famous singer and actress who had a prolific career as an actress specially in French cinema. Most of her work as an actress was in France, there she became a major star, however she occasionally appeared in English-language films such as Death on the Nile and Evil under the sun, both adaptations of Agatha Christie’s novels, as well as James Ivory’s A soldier daughter never cries.

Jane Birkin at the Festival du cinéma américain de Deauville, 1985.

But she is also remembered by her singer career alongside Serge Gainsbourg, who was also her romantic partner. After her separation from Gainsbourg in 1980, she continued to work on her two careers. Appearing in numerous independent films and recording several solo albums.

[It is] very flattering to have the most beautiful songs, probably, in the French language written for [you]. [But] how much talent did I really have? Perhaps not that much.
— Birkin reflecting on being muse and collaborator of Gainsbourg, 2013

Biography and Career

Jane Mallory Birkin, born in London on 14 December 1946. Her mother was an actress, best known for her work on stage, and her father was a Royal Navy lieutenant commander and a spy in the WWII. She was raised in Chelsea and used to describe herself as a “shy English girl” that was bullied for her looks:

“I suffered a lot because of my physique, especially at boarding school. The others said I was half boy, half girl. I had no breasts, not even a developing bosom. It was horrible.”

When she was 17, she met composer John Barry, who she married two years later. They had a child, Kate, in 1967. After Barry left for the US, they divorced in 1968 when she returned to live in London with her family. At this time, she began auditioning for roles in films and television in England and in Los Angeles.

She began her acting career, appearing in minor roles like in Michelangelo Antoioni’s Blowup (1966) as a blonde model. At the time, Blowup gained notoriety because of Birkin’s nude scene, later she said that she did this scene because John Barry had told her she would not have the courage to show up naked on set. In Kaleidoscope (1966), also by Antoni, her role was more substantial, and she appeared as a fantasy-like model in the psychedelic film Wonderwall (1968).

In 1968, she auditioned for the lead role in the French film Slogan (1969). Though she did not speak French she won the role. It was then when she met Serge Gainsbourg, they co-starred the film. They performed together the film’s theme song “La chanson de Slogan”. This marked the beginning of a years-long working and personal relationship, and in 1969 the duo released a debut album Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg.

She sang with Gainsbourg the controversial song Je t’aime moi non plus (I love you… me neither) that was directed by Gainsbourg. He had originally written this song for Brigitte Bardot, and Birkin had admitted that it was the jealousy that droves her to want to sing the song. This song caused a scandal for its sexual explicitness, and it was banned by radios in some countries as the UK, Spain or Italy.

Although her strong accent when speaking French prevent her from getting some important roles, it turned to be an asset in her career, as the French audience found it charming. Birkin said, “Without my accent, I would have had a different career.”

In the 1970s, Birkin released three albums mainly written by Gainsbourg: Di doo dah (1973), Lolita go home (1975), and Ex fan des sixties (1978). She took a little break from acting in 1971-72, but returned as Brigitte Bardot’s lover in Don Juan, or if Don Juan were a woman (1973). The same year she had a supporting role in a horror film with Christpher Lee and Joan Collins.

Two years later, she appeared in the first film directed by Serge Gainsbourg Je t’aime moi non plus, which created a stir for its frank examination of sexual ambiguity. The film was banned in the UK by the British Board of Film Classification. For her performance in this film she was nominated for a Best Actress César Award.

One of her last appearances was in 2016, in an ongoing campaign for Yves Saint Laurent shot by Heidi Slimane, which featured various female musicians, including Courtney Love, Marianne Faithfull, and Joni Mitchell. The same year she had the lead role in a short film directed by Timo von Gunten, called La femme et le TGV. The next year she stated the this would be her final acting performance, and that she had no plans to return to acting.

Until in 2017, she released Birkin/Gainsbourg: Le Symphonique, a collection of songs Gainsbourg had written for her (during and even after their relationship) reworked with full orchestral arrangements. Her last public appearance was on 8 July 2021, at the premier of the documentary Jane by Charlotte, about Birkin’s relationship with her daughter Charlotte.

Jane Birkin, 2017 Le Symphonique concert

Jane Birkin was found dead at her home in Paris, on 16 July 2023. She was 76. Her ashes were interred at Montparnasse Cemetery, in the grave of her daughter Kate Barry.

Curiosities:

She lived mainly in France from the late 1960s onwards and would acquire French citizenship.
She had three children. The photographer Kate Barry, with her first husband John Barry; actress, singer and film director Charlotte Gainsbourg, with Serge Gainsbourg; and singer and artist Lou Doillon, with Jacques Doillon.
In addition to her acting and musical credits, she lent her name to the Hermès Birkin handbag.

Her middle name “Mallory” was invented by her mother, partly inspired by the name of Arthurian author Sir Thomas Malory.
In 2021, she admitted she had started taking sleeping pill when she was 16 and never stopped.
Not many people know, but Birkin had humanitarian interests and she worked with Amnesty International on immigrant welfare and the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Serge Gainsbourg kept writing music for her, even after their breakup, such as Baby alone in Babylone (1983) and Amours des feintes (1990).
In 1978 she modelled in trade advertisements for Lee Cooper jeans.
She starred two films directed by Jacques Doillon: La fille prodigue in 1981, and La pirate in 1984.
In 2004 she was awarded the French Ordre National du Mérite.
In 2013, she and her daughter Lou Doillon, were pointed to the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres as Chevaliers.
Birkin campaigned against the far-right in France. In 200, participating in a protest denouncing the qualification of Jean-Marie Le Pen in the second round of the presidential election; and in 2017, she performed at a free concert at the Place de la République organised in opposition to Marine Le Pen in the presidential election.