PARIS — Personal belongings of French screen legend Brigitte Bardot fetched nearly €1 million at a Paris auction Monday, Sept. 21, reaching almost 20 times the initial estimate, auction house Millon told AFP.
The auction featured 285 items from Bardot’s homes in Saint-Tropez and her Paris apartment, including straw hats, sunglasses, nightgowns, tableware and furniture.
Bardot died in December at age 91. Proceeds from the sale will go to the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which she founded in 1986 to support animal welfare, and to her only child, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier.
About 3,000 bidders from France and other countries registered for the auction.
Auctioneer Alexandre Millon said Bardot had turned an estimated value of about 50,000 euros into nearly €1 million, including fees.
Among the items that drew strong bids were two dog collars with identification tags bearing Bardot’s name and the telephone number for La Madrague. The pair carried an estimate of €30 but sold for €9,400 to a buyer from Russia.
A self-portrait sold for nearly €40,000, while the typewriter Bardot used to write an autobiography fetched €4,634.
Two guitars, which carried estimates of €300 to €500, sold for €8,600 and €11,900. Three stuffed toys depicting baby seals fetched nearly €2,200.
Ghyslaine Calmels, managing director of the Bardot Foundation, said the auction continued Bardot’s efforts to raise funds for animal welfare. Bardot organized a similar sale of personal belongings in 1987 to help establish her foundation.
The auction also sparked criticism from Bernard d’Ormale, Bardot’s last husband, who called the sale a “joke” two days before the event.
D’Ormale questioned the decision to sell Bardot’s personal belongings and said the items should have remained part of her legacy. He also said Bardot “would not have agreed to this sale.”
The Brigitte Bardot Foundation rejected the criticism, saying its board approved the auction in June while d’Ormale still served as its president.
D’Ormale said he did not understand that the auction would include such personal belongings.
The dispute followed his removal as head of the foundation, a position he held since Bardot’s death.
The 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.