JANE BIRKIN in memoriam

BORN IN THE LONDON BOROUGH OF MARYLEBONE, DECEMBER 14, 1946. HER PECULIAR VOICE, SENSUALITY AND PRESENCE SCENIC, THEY INSPIRED THE CREATION OF A CULT PIECE.

HER CINEMATOGRAPHIC AND MUSICAL CAREER WAS LONG AND SUCCESSFUL, AS WELL AS HIS INTENSE LOVE STORIES WERE LEGENDARY, first with his discoverer, the British filmmaker John Barry, and above all, with the French actor, musician and filmmaker, Serge Gainsbourg, of whom he was the muse until the end of his life, despite no longer being a couple. In 1969, she shocked some and astonished others with the release of the song “Je’te Aime... Moi non Plus” where she is heard, between orgasmic gasps, saying how much she loves her man. Despite censorship in some countries, it was a worldwide success. Jane’s peculiar timbre of voice, mellifluous, soft, perhaps weak, was very well used by Gainsbourg to create a whole identity of hers around her.

Endowed with a striking beauty and enormous stage presence, with the haughty British sobriety on a par with French elegance and sensuality, the cultures to which she belonged, Jane Birkin was one of the sex symbols of the sixties and the inspiration for a whole generation of fashion and style enthusiasts. So apt was she to rock practically anything she wore that she inspired the creation of one of the most iconic pieces in the fashion industry.

In 1980, recently separated from Serge Ginsbourg and romantically linked to the French filmmaker Jacques Doillon, Jane Birkin coincided in a routine flight between Paris and London, with Jean-Louis Dumas, executive director of Hermès. Upon landing, maybe at Heathrow, maybe at Gatwick, Dumas already had the full inspiration for her new creation. In 1984, Hermés launched a fine leather bag, inspired and created for her, the legendary Birkin Bag.

JANE BIRKIN’S LIFE WAS NOT WITHOUT CHIAROSCURO. She lived through the pain of the death of her eldest daughter, photographer Kate Barry, in 2013. Kate fell out of the window of her London apartment. It is presumed to be a suicide.

After recovering from that bereavement, she remained active through various philanthropic endeavors, in addition to receiving numerous decorations and honors in both of her homelands, the United Kingdom and France.

Her health was declining until in recent years, she suffered a stroke and suffered from leukemia, a disease that ended up causing her death on July 16, 2023 at her residence in Paris. She was 76 years old. Her remains rest in the Montparnassé cemetery.

Jane Birkin went on to immortality, to the Olympus of the muses that inspired generations.

by MARCO A. GUERRERO [ @MARCOGUERREROLEON