Actor and singer Jane Birkin dies at 76

Jane became a star in her own right and a fashion icon in France. Hermes, the French luxury house, used her as inspiration for the famous Birkin bag.

Jane Birkin, the British actor and singer who rose to fame in France, died at the age of 76, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV, citing sources. She was born in London but moved to Paris at the age of 20 to work on the film Slogan.

Jane Birkin in an old picture at the 74th international film festival, Cannes, southern France.

Jane and Serge Gainsbourg

Jane fell in love with the film's star, French actor and singer Serge Gainsbourg, and the two quickly became the focus of public attention. The couple frequently collaborated professionally, most notably on Je t'aime... moi non plus.

Birkin bag was named after Jane

Despite being British, Jane quickly became a star in her own right and a fashion icon in France. Hermes, the French luxury house, used her as inspiration for the famous Birkin bag.

"Mom represents a very Parisian style, which is funny because she's not," Lou Doillon, her daughter, told CNN in 2017.

Jane's career

Jane began her acting career with minor roles in Michelangelo Antonioni's Blowup (1966) and Kaleidoscope (1966). She went on to appear in the Agatha Christie adaptations Death on the Nile (1978) and Evil Under the Sun (1982).

In 1991, she starred in the miniseries Red Fox, and in 1998, she starred in the American drama film A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries. She starred in the Academy Award-nominated short film La Femme et le TGV in 2016, which she stated was her final film role.