French Cinema Icon Brigitte Bardot Back in Hospital

French screen legend Brigitte Bardot has been admitted to hospital once again in the southern French city of Toulon, where she has reportedly remained for roughly ten days, according to local newspaper Var-Matin, citing informed sources. The development inevitably renews attention on the long-running concerns surrounding her health.

The 91-year-old, who resides in Saint-Tropez, was previously hospitalized in mid-October for a surgical procedure. Her condition had already prompted persistent speculation in recent months, despite earlier assurances that matters were under control.

During that earlier stay, Bardot underwent a minor operation at Toulon’s Saint-Jean Hospital, with medical staff indicating that the procedure had gone particularly well. Even so, given her standing as an emblem of France’s post-war cinema boom, any update tends to draw considerable scrutiny.

The star of And God Created Woman and Contempt stepped away from the film industry in 1973. Ahead of her 90th birthday, she told AFP that she lives in what she described as “silent solitude,” surrounded by nature and content to “escape humanity” — a sentiment that, while unconventional, reflects her longstanding preference for a private, measured existence.