PARIS, Dec 29 — She was the ultimate sex symbol whose voluptuous figure and libertine lifestyle sent tremors through the straitlaced 1950s, but Brigitte Bardot soon tired of the male gaze and walked away from it all to care for animals.

In the early days, when her curves, kohl-rimmed eyes and pout were plastered on French film posters, the actor known widely by her initials BB drew comparisons with Marilyn Monroe.