French actress Brigitte Bardot, who revolutionised 1950s French cinema and became a symbol of sexual liberation, has died age 91.

The cinema icon - BB as she was known in her home country - acted in almost 50 films, including And God Created Woman, but retired in 1973 to devote her life to animal welfare.

Paying tribute, President Emmanuel Macron said France is mourning a legend of the century, while the Brigitte Bardot Foundation remembered her as a world-renowned actress.

Later in life, Bardot's reputation was damaged after she made homophobic slurs and was fined multiple times for inciting racial hatred.

In a statement, the animal welfare foundation she established said it was announcing her death with immense sadness. The Brigitte Bardot Foundation said she was a world-renowned actress and singer, who chose to abandon her prestigious career to dedicate her life and energy to animal welfare and her foundation.

It did not specify where or when Bardot died.

In a tribute on social media, President Macron wrote: Her films, her voice, her dazzling glory, her initials, her sorrows, her generous passion for animals, her face that became Marianne, Brigitte Bardot embodied a life of freedom.

French existence, universal brilliance. She touched us. We mourn a legend of the century.

Another who paid tribute was French far-right politician Marine Le Pen: France loses an exceptional woman, through her talent, her courage, her frankness, her beauty.

Bardot's husband, whom she married in 1992, was Bernard d'Ormale, a former adviser to the late far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen - the father of Marine.

Bardot Anne-Marie Bardot was born in Paris in 1934 to a wealthy family, who wanted her to become a ballerina. She was discovered in her teens after posing on the cover of Elle magazine, swiftly becoming a sensation in her home country.

She played iconic roles, the most notable in the 1956 film And God Created Woman, directed by her then-husband Roger Vadim, in which she played a sexually liberated woman.

The film scandalised the American public and was banned in some US states, while the French existentialist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir hailed her as an icon of absolute freedom.

Through the late 1950s and 1960s, she became a global phenomenon with roles in The Truth, earning critical acclaim for her dramatic depth; Contempt, a Jean-Luc Godard masterpiece; and Viva Maria!, showcasing her comedic flair alongside Jeanne Moreau.

Bardot showcased her versatility in films like Love on a Pillow, where she portrayed a complex, emotionally-torn character, and Two Weeks in September, a romantic drama that highlighted her ability to convey vulnerability.

She will also be remembered as a fashion icon, with her blonde tousled hair and bold eyeliner setting trends worldwide. After wearing an off-the-shoulder number in Cannes in 1953, similar styles became known as the Bardot neckline.

Bardot was married four times and had one son, Nicolas, with French actor and film producer Jacques Charrier, who died in September. Nicolas later sued his mother for emotional damage after she wrote in an autobiography that she would have preferred to give birth to a little dog.

At the peak of her fame, Bardot announced her retirement at the age of 39 to focus on animal welfare. I gave my youth and beauty to men, I give my wisdom and experience to animals, she famously declared.

She launched the Brigitte Bardot Foundation in 1986, dedicated to protecting wild and domestic animals.

But for all her cinema successes and animal welfare work, Bardot leaves behind a controversial legacy, with a string of remarks made later in her life about Islam and the #MeToo movement impacting her reputation. Bardot faced allegations for inciting racial hatred after comments about Muslims and was fined multiple times for her statements.