Iggy Pop, Johnny Marr and more pay tribute to style icon Jane Birkin

Style icon, actor, singer and activist Jane Birkin has died, Le Parisien reported yesterday.

The star was found dead at her home in Paris, having cancelled a string of concerts scheduled for last month in her home city due to health reasons. She had previously been diagnosed with leukemia in 2002.

A cause of death has not yet been announced for the 76-year-old. Tributes have since flooded in from the entertainment and political world, with France’s Culture Ministry referred to her as a “timeless Francophone icon.”

In September 2021, Birkin’s family told the Agence France-Presse that Birkin was recovering from “a minor form of stroke”, leading her to cancel her appearance at the American Film Festival in Deauville, France. She was set to discuss her daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg’s documentary Jane by Charlotte.

French president Emmanuel Macron tweeted Sunday, “Because she embodied freedom, because she sang the most beautiful words of our language, Jane Birkin was a French icon. A complete artist, her voice was as sweet as her engagements were fiery. She bequeaths us tunes and images that will never leave us.”

Parce qu’elle incarnait la liberté, qu’elle chantait les plus beaux mots de notre langue, Jane Birkin était une icône française.

Artiste complète, sa voix était aussi douce que ses engagements étaient ardents.

Elle nous lègue des airs et des images qui ne nous quitteront pas. pic.twitter.com/Ad27ngF54R

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) July 16, 2023

Birkin was born on December 14, 1946, growing up in London with an actress mother (Judy Campbell) and a high-ranking Royal Navy official and World War II spy (David Birkin) as a father. She took on minor acting parts beginning in the mid-1960s before landing bigger roles in the counter-culture films like Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blowup, Kaleidoscope, and the George Harrison-soundtracked Wonderwall.

Birkin’s acting career led her to singer Serge Gainsbourg with 1968’s Slogan, and the two sang the film’s theme in addition to starring as its leads. Their 1969 single 'Je t’aime moi non plus' — the opener of Jane Birkin et Serge Gainsbourg — caused a stir for its frank eroticism.

After filming Slogan, Birkin relocated to France permanently and won a role in the French thriller La Piscine (1969). "The film saved me and enabled me to stay in France. I just finished Slogan and was due to go back to England," she said at the time. Her heavy accent in French prevented her from getting some roles, but turned out to be an asset in her career, as French audiences found it charming: "Without my accent, I would have had a different career."

The pair remained a couple for more than a decade, with Birkin appearing on the cover and singing on Gainsbourg’s landmark 1971 album Histoire de Melody Nelson. Birkin also starred in Je t’aime moi non plus, Gainsbourg’s debut film.

serge gainsbourg & jane birkin ( 1969 ) pic.twitter.com/jedscTbYS6

— ً (@Poemthatbreath) July 8, 2023

Gainsbourg and Birkin had a daughter, Charlotte Gainsbourg, in 1971. The pair never married, but separated in 1980. As a teenager, Birkin had been married to James Bond composer John Barry, and had a daughter named Kate with him in 1967 before their divorce the following year. In 1982, Birkin and her then partner, French filmmaker Jacques Doillon, welcomed their daughter—singer and actress Lou Doillon.

Birkin continued her music pursuits beyond her relationship with Gainsbourg. She maintained her involvement in art throughout her life, including roles in Death on the Nile, Dark Places, and Evil Under the Sun. Her recording career continued well into the 2000s, a run that included more than 15 solo albums, in addition to a 2017 collection of songs by Serge Gainsbourg rewritten with orchestral arrangements. Her final album was 2020’s Oh! Pardon tu dormais…

As well as film and music, Birkin was the namesake for a line of Hermès leather tote bags ('The Birkin Bag') launched in the 1980s, which became a status symbol for their customised craftsmanship and price tags.

jane birkin with her baskets that inspired the hermès birkin bag, rest in peace to the timeless style icon and epitome of effortless chic </3 pic.twitter.com/7ViXrjJbAr

— ❦ (@saintdoII) July 16, 2023

In 2019, Birkin reflected on her and Gainsbourg’s 'Je t’aime moi non plus' with Vogue France. The track became a Number One single in the UK, the first foreign language song to reach the top spot in that country.

“We never thought for a moment that the song would become such a symbol of freedom all over the world,” she said. “People listened to it in secret, from Spain to Argentina. The Pope banned it, BBC banned it too, and in Italy, the head of Phonogram Records was thrown into jail.” “The song I sang with Serge will stay with me,” Birkin said in a different interview. “When I die, that’ll be the tune they play, as I go out feet first.”

Birkin made her directorial debut in 2006 with her film Boxes. Her last on-screen role was in the documentary Jane by Charlotte, which served as her daughter Charlotte’s directorial debut.

Despite their at times abusive relationship, Birkin remained a supporter of Serge Gainsbourg’s work after the French singer’s death. In 2020, she participated in Birkin Gainsbourg the Symphonic Starring Jane Birkin, an all-star staging of her collaborative work. Charlotte Gainsbourg and Iggy Pop took part in the New York performance.

In her later life, Birkin carried out campaigning work in aid of domestic violence organisations, and was a frequent outspoken activist for pro-democracy causes.

MESSAGE FROM IGGY: “Jane Birkin was a beaufitul and unique lady”.

— Iggy Pop (@IggyPop) July 16, 2023

R.I.P Jane Birkin. Playing on her album ‘Fictions’ in 2006 was a lovely experience. A sweet and kind person with a heart for art. x pic.twitter.com/byZbgdu9ta

— Johnny Marr (@Johnny_Marr) July 16, 2023

Heartbreaking news. Jane Birkin was one of the kindest, dearest, funniest, most generous, original and interesting people I’ve ever known. Thoughts with her family. pic.twitter.com/pRU2MgU21c

— Mia Farrow🌻🇺🇸 🏳️‍🌈 (@MiaFarrow) July 16, 2023

An icon of coolness and so much more.
Safe travels Jane Birkin x pic.twitter.com/yTAFFefLbj

— Tim Burgess (@Tim_Burgess) July 16, 2023