Singer and actress Jane Birkin dead at 76 - reports

 

The singer and actress Jane Birkin has died at the age of 76, according to media reports in France.

The English-French star was known for her professional and personal relationship with the musician Serge Gainsbourg and was considered a style icon in the late 1960s and 1970s.

She was born in London but found fame singing in French, and relocated there in the 1970s.

French media reported that she was found dead at her home in Paris.

Her personal and artistic relationship with Gainsbourg made her famous around the world following their international hit "Je t'aime... moi non plus".   

The duet was recorded in 1968, months after they met on the set of the film Slogan.

The pair were together for 12 years but remained friends after their split, with Gainsbourg still writing songs for Birkin.

Her acting credits included films such as the 1966 classic Blow Up, Death on the Nile (1978) and Evil Under the Sun (1982).

Birkin was also a model and came to be widely seen as a fashion trendsetter, inspiring the Birkin handbag, a style put into production by Hermes.

Menna Rawlings, the British ambassador to France, paid tribute to her on Twitter, describing her as "the most French of British artists".

It was reported in September 2021 that she had suffered a stroke, forcing her to cancel a planned appearance at an American film festival. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-66216417