Style

Jane Birkin: A life in pictures

The English-born actor, activist and muse who died at her home in Paris on 16 July was an early accidental style icon and the inspiration for the famous Hermès Birkin bag

British-French actress, singer-songwriter and fashion model Jane Birkin, photographed in the UK, 25th October 1968. (Photo by Daily Express/Getty Images)
British stage and screen actress Judy Campbell (1916 - 2004) with her husband Lieutenant Commander David Birkin at the christening of their baby daughter, the future actress Jane Birkin, 1st May 1947. Also with them is their son Andrew. (Photo by George W. Hales/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Photo by George W. Hales
English playwright Wolf Mankowitz (1924 - 1998) with actresses (left to right) Pauline Collins, Jane Birkin, Francesca Annis and Jean Muir, UK, 24th August 1965. The woman are appearing in the Mankowitz play 'Passion Flower Hotel' (based on the novel by Rosalind Erskine) at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Photo by Evening Standard
English actress, singer, songwriter, and model Jane Birkin, wearing the helmet worn by Terence Stamp in the film "Far from the Madding Crowd", eats an ice cream, London, UK, 9th June 1970 (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Photo by Evening Standard
English actress Jane Birkin enjoys a sun-soaked holiday on the Cote d'Azur, 16th July 1973. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Photo by Keystone
British actress and singer Jane Birkin wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and the sleeves of a sweater tied around her neck, and a pair of jeans with her thumbs under the beltline, and a wicker basket hanging from her right arm, smiling on a street in London, England, 13th April 1973. (Photo by David Thorpe/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Photo by David Thorpe
English actress Jane Birkin and French musician Serge Gainsbourg at home in Paris. (Photo by Reg Lancaster/Getty Images) Photo by Reg Lancaster
English actress Jane Birkin and French singer Serge Gainsbourg (1928 - 1991) announce that they are expecting a baby, France, 26th March 1971. Their daughter, actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, was born in July 1971. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Photo by Keystone
English actress and singer Jane Birkin, February 1971. (Photo by Mike McKeown/Daily Express/Getty Images) Photo by M. McKeown
English singer and actress Jane Birkin and French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg (1928 - 1991) with their baby daughter, Charlotte, at Birkin's home in Cheyne Row, London, 12th August 1971. (Photo by Michael Webb/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Photo by Michael Webb
French musician and singer Serge Gainsbourg (1928 - 1991) and his partner, English actress Jane Birkin with her daughter Kate Barry (1967 - 2013) and their baby Charlotte Gainsbourg at Heathrow Airport in London, 29th December 1972. (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Photo by Evening Standard
English actress and singer Jane Birkin with 7-month-old Kate Barry, her daughter by composer John Barry, 9th November 1967. (Photo by Reg Burkett/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Photo by Reg Burkett
French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg (1928 1991) with English actress Jane Birkin in Munich to promote the film 'Je t'aime... moi non plus', 1976. Gainsbourg directs and Birkin stars in the film. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Photo by Keystone
English actress and singer Jane Birkin, UK, November 1974. (Photo by R. Viner/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Photo by R. Viner
1972: Film actress Jane Birkin with her daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images) Photo by Keystone
CANNES, FRANCE - JULY 08: (EDITOR NOTE: This image has been converted in black and white) Jane Birkin and director Charlotte Gainsbourg attend the "Jane Par Charlotte (Jane By Charlotte)" photocall during the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 08, 2021 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) Photo by Pascal Le Segretain
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 08: Jane Birkin's 'Birkin' bag by Hermes goes on view during the "Bags: Inside Out" press view at Victoria and Albert Museum on December 08, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images) Photo by Tristan Fewings
CANNES, FRANCE - JULY 07: Charlotte Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin attend the screening of "Jane Par Charlotte (Jane By Charlotte)" during the 74th annual Cannes Film Festival on July 07, 2021 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) Photo by Pascal Le Segretain
TOKYO - SEPTEMBER 15: Actress and singer Jane Birkin attends the Amnesty International conference to demand the release of Aung San Suu Kyi at the Diet Members' Building of the House of Councillors on September 15, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan. Aung San Suu Kyi remains under home detention by Myanmar government. (Photo by Koki Nagahama/Getty Images) Photo by Getty Images
405407 02: French actress Jane Birkin poses for photographers as she arrives for the opening ceremony of the 55th International Cannes Film Festival May 15, 2002 in Cannes, France. Twenty-two films are in competition for the Palme d''Or at the film jamboree on the French Riviera which begins with the out-of-competition screening of American director Woody Allen's movie "Hollywood Ending". (Photo Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) Photo by Pascal Le Segretain