Jane Birkin, who inspired the iconic Birkin bag by French luxury house Hermes, died at 76. Jane Birkin, the London-born star and fashion icon, was known for her relationship with French singer Serge Gainsbourg.
Jane Birkin, the British actress and singer who made France her home and enchanted the country with her English ease, natural style, and social activity, died at the age of 76. The fashion queen and London-born diva was noted for her musical and romantic connection with French musician Serge Gainsbourg. Their songs were notable for the passionate "Je t'aime moi non plus" ("I Love You, But Not Me"). Birkin's angelic, British-accented singing voice blended with his gruff baritone in the 1969 duet that helped launch her career and was banned in Italy after being condemned in a Vatican journal.
Birkin's style from the 1960s and early 1970s - long hair with fringe, trousers with white shirts, knit little skirts and basket bags — still represents the pinnacle of French flair for many women worldwide.
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Birkin was also associated with a Hermes bag bearing her name. The Birkin bag, created in her honour by the Paris design brand in 1984, became one of the world's most exclusive luxury products, with an astronomical price tag and a years-long waiting list to purchase it.
Birkin was also honoured in her adopted country for her political activity and advocacy for Amnesty International, Myanmar's pro-democracy movement, the battle against AIDS, and other causes.
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"You can always do something," Birkin remarked in 2001, rallying support for an Amnesty International anti-torture campaign. "You can say, 'I am not okay with that.'"
In 2008, she marched with five monks through the Cannes Film Festival to urge that Myanmar let international charity workers into the country to assist cyclone victims.
In 2022, she joined other French actors and musicians in shaving off lengths of hair in support of Iranian demonstrators. As Iran was immersed in anti-government riots, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Birkin's daughter with Gainsbourg and an actress in her own right, cut a piece of her mother's hair for the "HairForFreedom" campaign.
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, praised Birkin as a "complete artist," saying that her delicate voice complemented her "ardent" advocacy.
