Singer, actress and style icon, Jane Birkin, has passed away in her Paris apartment at the age of 76.
Local news outlets reported Birkin was found dead in her home by those close to her, but a precise cause of death is yet to be confirmed.
Birkin was born in the United Kingdom but has long been embraced by her chosen homeland of France. The nation’s president, Emmanuel Macron, paid tribute to Birkin upon her passing, calling her a “French icon”.
“Because she embodied freedom, because she sang the most beautiful words of our language, Jane Birkin was a French icon,” he tweeted. “A complete artist, her voice was as gentle as her commitments were ardent. She bequeaths us a legacy of songs and images that will never leave us.”
Birkin gained fame during her relationship and musical partnership with Serge Gainsbourg, whom she dated for roughly 12 years from 1968 to 1980.
The pair recorded the hit ‘Je T’aime… Moi Non Plus’, which, despite being widely scandalous due to its erotic content, was the first foreign-language song to reach number one in the UK.
Birkin went on to record a dozen further albums and star in countless films and TV shows, mostly in France.
However, Birkin’s influence was arguably greatest in the realm of fashion.
Jane is famously known as the inspiration for the world’s most iconic handbag, the Hermès Birkin. The collaboration began after the head of the French maison, Jean-Louis Dumas, sat next to Birkin on a flight from Paris to London in 1984. Dumas noticed Birkin struggle to keep the contents of her famous straw bag together, but revealed she could not find a sturdier, leather bag she liked. Inspired by the conversation, Dumas created the large leather tote in her name.
The bag remains one of the most exclusive and well-known in history.
In 2015, Birkin requested the fashion house stop using her name due to concerns over crocodile skin used in the bag.
In her personal life, Birkin was married three times, first to British composer John Barry in 1965. She and Barry’s daughter, Kate Barry, was a photographer, and passed after falling from her Paris apartment in December 2013.
In 1968, Birkin began a relationship with French musician, writer and director Serge Gainsbourg, and gave birth to their daughter, actress Charlotte Gainsbourg in 1971.
After separating from Serge, Birkin dated Jacques Doillon from 1980 to 1991. The pair also have a daughter, Lou Doillon, born in 2981.
Here we look back at some of Jane Birkin’s most iconic style moments.
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