History of Jane Birkin in Timeline

Jane Birkin was a British-French icon known as an actress, singer, and designer. She was born in 1946 in London, England and passed away in 2023 in Paris, France. She gained fame in the 1960s and 1970s and was a prominent figure in French cinema. Beyond acting, she was a singer with a distinctive breathy voice and released several albums. Birkin was also known for her sense of style, which influenced fashion trends. Her collaboration with Hermès led to the creation of the iconic Birkin bag, which became a status symbol. She had a long time relationship with Serge Gainsbourg.

Sections (4)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements Success & Recognition

October 1965: Marriage to John Barry

On October 16, 1965, 18-year-old Jane Birkin married British composer and conductor John Barry, who was 13 years her senior, in a private ceremony at Chelsea Register Office, London. They had met in 1964 when Barry cast Birkin in his musical Passion Flower Hotel.

1968: Met Serge Gainsbourg and beginning of relationship

In 1968, Jane Birkin met Serge Gainsbourg on the set of Slogan, beginning a 12-year romantic and creative relationship. Though there were rumors, they never married.

1971: Birth of daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg

In 1971, Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg welcomed their daughter, actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg.

1980: Separation from Serge Gainsbourg

In 1980, Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg separated due to his alcoholism and violence. She found him very difficult to live with.

September 1982: Birth of daughter Lou Doillon

On September 4, 1982, Jane Birkin gave birth to her third daughter, Lou Doillon, from her relationship with director Jacques Doillon.

1982: Design Inspiration for Birkin Bag

In 1982, Jean-Louis Dumas used a design to create a bag.

1983: Meeting with Hermès CEO Jean-Louis Dumas

In 1983, Jane Birkin met Hermès chief executive Jean-Louis Dumas on a flight from Paris to London. After the contents of her straw basket spilled, she discussed the difficulty of finding a suitable leather weekend bag.

1984: Creation of the Birkin bag

In 1984, Hermès CEO Jean-Louis Dumas created the Birkin bag for Jane Birkin, based on a 1982 design, a black supple leather bag. While she used it initially, she later found it too heavy.

1985: Won "Best Actress" award at Orleans Film Festival

Jane Birkin won the "Best Actress" award at the 1985 Orleans Film Festival for Leave All Fair. The jury of the 1985 Venice Film Festival recognised Birkin's performance in Dust as amongst the best of the year. Dust won the Silver Lion prize.

1991: Death of Serge Gainsbourg

In 1991, Serge Gainsbourg, Jane Birkin's former partner, passed away. Jacques Doillon, her then partner, could not compete with her grief for Gainsbourg, and she had lived alone since her separation.

1993: Separation from Jacques Doillon

In 1993, Jane Birkin and Jacques Doillon separated. Birkin said that Doillon lost interest in casting her in his movies, and she felt "pain for Jacques going off with all these young girls making all these films all the time".

2001: Awarded OBE at Buckingham Palace

In 2001, Jane Birkin received an OBE award at Buckingham Palace in London.

2001: Appointment as Officer of the Order of the British Empire

In the diplomatic and overseas list of the 2001 Birthday Honours, Jane Birkin was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire "for services to acting and UK-French cultural relations".

April 2002: Receiving the OBE from the Prince of Wales

In April 2002, Jane Birkin received the Order of the British Empire from the Prince of Wales.

2002: Campaign against far-right in France

In 2002, Jane Birkin campaigned against the far-right in France, participating in a protest denouncing the qualification of Jean-Marie Le Pen in the second round of the 2002 presidential election.

2002: Diagnosis with Leukemia

In 2002, Jane Birkin was diagnosed with leukemia and underwent rounds of treatment.

2002: Featured Image on Badly Drawn Boy Album Cover

In 2002, Jane Birkin's image was featured on the cover art of Have You Fed the Fish? by singer-songwriter Badly Drawn Boy. Her daughter, Charlotte Gainsbourg, provided backing vocals on the album.

2003: Recording of "Beauty" on album "Strong Currents"

In 2003, Jane Birkin recorded the song "Beauty" on French producer Hector Zazou's album Strong Currents. The album featured several artists and covered songs by Nina Hynes.

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2004: Release of "Rendez-vous" album

In 2004, Jane Birkin released Rendez-vous, an album of duets featuring Francoise Hardy and Bryan Ferry, among others.

2004: Awarded France's Ordre nationale du Merite

In 2004, Jane Birkin was awarded France's Ordre nationale du Merite.

2006: Release of "Fictions" Album

In 2006, Jane Birkin recorded and released the album Fictions.

2007: Report on Doillon's Inability to Compete with Birkin's Grief

In 2007, The Observer reported that Jacques Doillon "could not compete with her grief for Gainsbourg" (who died in 1991), and that she had lived alone since their separation in 1993.

2008: Release of "Enfants d'hiver" album

In 2008, Jane Birkin released the album Enfants d'hiver.

2010: Demonstrated support for immigrants

In 2010, Jane Birkin demonstrated support for immigrants, denouncing the French government's policy towards undocumented migrants and protesting outside the residence of the Minister of Immigration, Éric Besson. She also announced that she was sponsoring a young Congolese who had requested political asylum.

2010: Duet with Sérgio Dias

In 2010, Jane Birkin recorded a duet, "Marie," with Brazilian singer Sérgio Dias, which appeared on We Are the Lilies, an album by Dias and French band Tahiti Boy and the Palmtree Family, featuring contributions from Iggy Pop and others.

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December 2013: Death of Kate Barry

In December 2013, Jane Birkin's daughter, Kate Barry, passed away after falling from her fourth floor apartment in Paris.

2013: Appointed to the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

In 2013, Jane Birkin and her daughter, Lou Doillon, were appointed to the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres as Chevaliers.

2015: Marched in Paris in support of refugees

In 2015, Jane Birkin marched in Paris in support of refugees.

2015: Awarded the French Ordre National du Mérite

In 2015, Jane Birkin was awarded the French Ordre National du Mérite.

2015: Request to remove name from Birkin Croco bag

In 2015, Jane Birkin wrote a public letter to Hermès requesting her name be removed from the Birkin Croco bag due to concerns about the methods used to acquire the skins for the crocodile variant. Hermès addressed her concerns.

2016: Advertising Campaign for Yves Saint Laurent and Lead Role in "La femme et le TGV"

In 2016, Jane Birkin appeared in an advertising campaign for Yves Saint Laurent, shot by Hedi Slimane, alongside other female musicians. She also had the lead role in La femme et le TGV, a short film directed by Timo von Gunten.

Yves Saint Laurent Men's Y Eau de Parfum, 3.3-oz.

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March 2017: Release of "Birkin/Gainsbourg: Le Symphonique"

On March 24, 2017, Jane Birkin released Birkin/Gainsbourg: Le Symphonique, a collection of songs Gainsbourg had written for her, reworked with full orchestral arrangements.

September 2017: Live Performance in Brussels

In September 2017, Jane Birkin performed live in Brussels to promote the album Birkin/Gainsbourg: Le Symphonique.

2017: Performance at Free Concert Against Marine Le Pen

In 2017, Jane Birkin performed at a free concert at the Place de la République organized in opposition to Marine Le Pen in the 2017 presidential election.

2017: Retirement from Acting Announced

In a 2017 interview, Jane Birkin stated that La femme et le TGV would be her final acting performance and that she had no plans to return to acting.

September 2018: Signed Open Letter on Climate Change

In September 2018, following the resignation of French environment minister Nicolas Hulot, Jane Birkin was among 200 artists and scientists who signed an open letter published on the front page of Le Monde, urging politicians to act on climate change and biodiversity collapse.

2018: Awarded the Order of the Rising Sun

In 2018, Jane Birkin was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun in the Spring Conferment for her efforts in promoting cultural exchanges between Japan and France.

July 2021: Premiere of Documentary "Jane by Charlotte"

In July 2021, one of Jane Birkin's last public appearances was at the premiere of the documentary Jane by Charlotte, about her relationship with her daughter Charlotte.

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September 2021: Report of Birkin Recovering From Stroke

On September 6, 2021, it was reported that Jane Birkin was doing well after having a stroke.

2022: Raised to Commandeur in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

In 2022, Jane Birkin was raised to the highest rank in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Commandeur.

2022: Cut Hair in Support of Iranian Women

In late 2022, Jane Birkin, along with other French women, cut her hair in support of Iranian women and girls who had been killed in protests following the death of Mahsa Amini.