A Tribute to Brigitte Bardot: Our Journeys of Passion and Protection Intertwined

Brigitte Bardot has influenced people and animals around the world. As the great-grandchild of French-Belgian immigrants, I knew her as a familiar face in my childhood home. Her movies "And God Created Woman" and "The Rum Runners" were family favorites, but by the time I was discovering her, she had already stepped away from the spotlight. In 1973, she shed the "sex symbol" label and auctioned her possessions to save the seals, famously saying: “I gave my beauty and my youth to men and now I’m giving my wisdom and experience to animals.”

Even as her "sex kitten" image graced the pages of Playboy for her 40th birthday in 1975, life was weaving strange patterns; ironically, in the 80s, Vince worked as a butler at the very Playboy Mansion that celebrated her beauty. But for me, the connection ran deeper.

In 1977, when Brigitte Bardot famously protested the commercial slaughter of baby seals—seeing her image on the sub-Arctic ice of Newfoundland, cuddling a white harp seal pup with large black eyes—I knew I wanted to grow up to be just like her: beautiful and bold. I even named our family’s first French Poodle "Brigitte" in her honor.

Years later, in June 1987, when she auctioned over 100 of her most personal possessions to launch her organization, La Fondation Brigitte Bardot (BBF), I never dreamed that in 2006, when we founded ACES (American Crocodile Education Sanctuary) in Belize, she would ultimately save us.

After a tragic arson in September 2010, Fondation Brigitte Bardot helped ACES rebuild. In 2012, I wrote and received a grant to create a new habitat and relocate Croc George, a massive 14-foot American crocodile who had been illegally fed for years, losing his fear of humans and becoming "dangerous" through no fault of his own. Brigitte recognized the value of a species of apex predators that is mostly misunderstood.

She continued to award funding for our mission each year through 2018. Her final grant provided a club cart utility vehicle, a vital tool as we transitioned the organization to the next generation. Today, our legacy and hers live on through ACES Wildlife Rescue on Ambergris Caye. From a French poodle named Brigitte to a 14-foot crocodile in Belize, the circle of compassion she started remains unbroken. God Bless Brigitte Bardot.

Vince Rose relocating Croc George to his new home made possible by La Fondation Brigitte Bardot