Ambulance Rushes to Brigitte Bardot's Home as Actress Suffers Medical Emergency

The actress was put on oxygen after experiencing breathing issues.

By Allison Schonter

Emergency services were called to Brigitte Bardot's home in Saint-Tropez in Southern France on Wednesday after the actress suffered breathing issues related to the heat, according to French media reports. Bardot's husband, Bernard d'Ormale, confirmed the incident to local newspaper Var Martin, telling the outlet that his wife's condition had improved after she was put on oxygen.
 
According to d'Ormale, Bardot, 88, began experiencing a medical emergency at around 9 a.m. d'Ormale told French media, "it was around 9 o'clock when Brigitte had trouble breathing. It was stronger than usual but she didn't lose consciousness. Let's call it a moment of respiratory distraction." When firefighter's arrived to the couple's home, Bardot was given "oxygen to breathe," and firefighters "stayed for a moment to watch her," her husband said, adding that emergency services personnel originally went to the wrong address before getting to their home. He suggested high temperatures in Saint Tropez were the cause of his wife's breathing issues, as Southern Europe is currently enduring a prolonged heatwave.
 
"Like all people of a certain age, she can no longer bear the heat. It happens at 88 years old. She must not make useless efforts," he said. "Her pulse is fine, her heart too and her blood pressure is good, but things remain fragile."
 
Bardot gained fame as an actress in the '50s and '60s, starring in films like Et Dieu... Crea La Femme (And God... Created Woman) by Roger Vadim, Henri-Georges Clouzot's murder trial drama La Vérité, and Jean-Luc Godard's 1963 Contempt. The actress stepped away from acting in 1973. In the 2023 book Being Bardot, author James Clarke revealed why Bardot stepped away from acting, telling Fox News Digital in June, "There was some exhaustion there, not just from the pace of work, but just [being] the endless subject of a camera lens, whether it's a still camera lens or a movie lens."
 
Bardot is now more known for her work as an animal rights activist. She set up the Foundation Brigitte Bardot in 1986 to support this work, and in 1987, she raised $500,000 by auctioning off one-fifth of her personal belongings such as clothes, jewelry, and art. The actress has stepped into some controversy, however, through racist comments and accusations of inciting racial hatred. She has also faced backlash for homophobic remarks made in public and in her own autobiography.

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