Jane Birkin, the British singer and actress who found fame in France, has died aged 76.

Birkin spent nearly six decades in the limelight in her adopted home, to which she moved at 20 and without knowing the French language.

Birkin’s rise to fame began shortly after her arrival in Paris, when she fell in love with French actor and singer Serge Gainsbourg. The two quickly became the subject of widespread public fascination, with Gainsbourg nearly 20 years older than Birkin.

While her relationship with Gainsbourg made Birkin a household name, Birkin quickly become a star in her own right and a fashion star in France, despite being British.

“Mom represents a very Parisian style, which is funny because she’s not,” her daughter Lou Doillon once said.

Birkin is survived by Doillon and actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, her daughter with Serge. Another daughter, Kate Barry, died in 2013 at the age of 46.

Jane Birkin was born in London in 1946. She married legendary British composer John Barry in 1965, though the union didn’t last.

Birkin left for Paris in 1968 to work on a film called “Slogan,” where she met Gainsbourg.

Birkin went on to become a darling of French cinema, appearing in over 70 films and working with some of France’s most esteemed directors.

Gainsbourg and Birkin’s tumultuous relationship ended in 1981, but the two remained on good terms after their split and continued to collaborate on artistic projects.

Birkin garnered her first Cesar nomination, the French equivalent of the Oscars, in 1985 for her performance in the film “La Pirate,” directed by French director, Jacques Doillon who she went on to have a daughter with.

While Birkin managed to carve out a prolific career in music, acting and modeling, it was her part in creating the Birkin bag — one of fashion’s most enduring and iconic accessories — that made her the household name she is today.

Birkin recounted in an interview how a chance encounter on an Air France flight to London sat next to Jean-Louis Dumas, the-then chairman of Hermes, inspired the much-coveted bag that bears her name.

As items spilled out of her oversized Kelly bag — an earlier design from the French luxury house popularized by Grace Kelly — Birkin suggested a new design to Dumas.

“I said, Why don’t you make a bag that’s sort-of four times the (size of the) Kelly that you could just leave open,” she recalled, before drawing a sketch on the vomit bag in the airplane seat back.

Dumas was true to his word and the Birkin bag was introduced in 1984.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【波折不断的】

bōshé búduàn de

tumultuous

marked by violent or overwhelming turbulence or upheaval

【家喻户晓的】

jiāyù hùxiǎo de

household name

a person or thing whose name is very well-known

在法国成名的英国演员歌手简•铂金逝世，享年76岁。

铂金在法国度过了近60年的风光岁月，她20岁时移居法国，当时还不懂法语。抵达巴黎后不久铂金爱上了法国演员歌手塞吉•甘斯布，此后星途坦荡。甘斯布比她年长近20岁，恋情很快引起了广泛关注。和甘斯布的恋情让她家喻户晓，尽管是英国人，但铂金依靠自己的实力迅速成为明星和时尚新星。

她女儿卢•杜瓦隆曾说过：“妈妈代表了一种非常巴黎的风格，这很有趣，因为她并不是巴黎人。”除了杜瓦隆，铂金还有个女儿夏洛特•甘斯布，是名女演员，是她和塞吉的孩子。另一个女儿凯特•巴里于2013年去世，享年46岁。

铂金1946年出生于伦敦，1965年嫁给英国传奇作曲家约翰•巴里，但婚姻并不长久。1968年，她前往巴黎拍摄电影《口号》，遇到了甘斯布。铂金随后成为法国电影的宠儿，出演了70多部电影，与该国最受尊敬的导演合作。1981年，甘斯布与铂金结束了波折不断的恋情，两人分手后仍保持着良好的关系，并继续合作。

1985年，铂金因在法国导演雅克•杜瓦隆执导的电影《海盗》中的出色表演而首次获得恺撒奖（相当于法国的奥斯卡奖）提名，俩人育有一女。

虽然铂金在音乐、表演和模特等领域取得了骄人的成就，但今天她为大家熟知是因为她参与设计的铂金包 —— 一款经久不衰的时尚单品。

铂金在一次采访中讲述了铂金包的缘起。在一次飞往伦敦的法航航班上，她与当时的爱马仕董事长让•路易•杜马斯偶遇，激发了创作这款手袋的灵感。

当时她的随身物品从超大号凯利包（因为格蕾丝•凯利使用过而流行）里掉出来，铂金向杜马斯建议了一个新设计。她回忆说：“我说，你为什么不做一个比凯利包大四倍的包，可以敞开放东西？”然后她在飞机椅背后的呕吐袋上画了一张草图。

杜马斯说到做到，铂金包1984年面世。(SD-Agencies)