India, Dec. 28 -- Brigitte Bardot, the French actor who became one of the defining sex symbols of the 1960s before reinventing herself as a militant animal rights activist and outspoken supporter of the far right, has died at the age of 91.

Brigitte Bardot died on Sunday at her home in southern France, Bruno Jacquelin of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the protection of animals told The Associated Press.

Celebrated worldwide for her film career and screen presence, Bardot later withdrew from cinema and devoted herself almost entirely to animal welfare.

Over time, however, her public image shifted sharply as her activism became intertwined with increasingly extremist rhetoric, particularly targeting immigrants and Muslims in France....