If you are not in France it’s not yet clear on which platform we will be able to Bardot, but the French production about the legendary Brigitte Bardot shall premiere in early 2023 with newcomer Julia de Nunez debuting as the main character.

For younger generations, either beauty or the impact of the French star might seem odd at first, as she retired 50 years ago to become an animal activist. That second half of her life will not be in Bardot, the six-episode series that will retell the birth of BB – Brigitte Bardot – until the early 1960s, when she became a mother.

Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot was born and raised in Paris, part of a wealthy family, and since young dreamt of becoming a ballerina. At just 15, started modeling and caught the attention of future director Roger Vadim. They started dating, much to her parent’s disapproval. The only way they were allowed to be together was after Roger promised to marry Brigitte when she’d turned 18 years old.

Pretty soon neither modeling nor dancing was enough and Brigitte started to work as an actress and get recognition for her work. But it was only after Roger Vadim directed his first feature starring his wife that she became a world sensation. And God Created Woman had her alongside Jean-Louis Trintignant and Curt Jurgens, with daring nude and sexy scenes for the period. Brigitte became the highest-paid actress in France and a worldwide phenomenon.

When she retired, in 1973, Brigitte had starred in 47 films, a few musicals and plays, and a career as a singer as well. She dropped everything to become an activist for animals and her strong personality as well as her straightforwardness generated news and controversial stories about herself, especially her connection with heavy right-wing political names. Her husband was one of the main advisors for Jean-Marie Le Pen. These things hurt her popularity.

Perhaps it’s because of this questionable second half of her life that the series will not get there. Thus far no one has tried a biopic and that was the motivation. They were looking for a fresh face that could be believable from 15 to 25, from a teenager to a femme fatale. Most of all, Julia seemed fearless to give life to a myth who’s still alive such as Brigitte Bardot.

At 23 herself, Julia is the daughter of an Argentinean father and a French mother. Born and raised in Paris, she kind of always dreamed of performing, but only took the leap after finishing college. Julia admitted that she was aware of the legend of BB but had to study to understand her importance in pop culture. And decided to avoid imitating her and instead “become” Brigitte. From the footage looks like mission accomplished.

After she was done, the young actress made an effort to become the most distant as possible from her character, including looks and a decision to invest in theatre before trying movies or TV again. Most of all, to stay away from the limelight. That seems to be a challenge.