https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly92pr8qryo

[she] retired in 1973 to devote her life to animal welfare.

Later in life, Bardot's reputation was damaged after she made homophobic slurs and was fined multiple times for inciting racial hatred.

She was relatively mild; the fines were ridiculous. Bardot was early (2000s era) in pointing out what today is trite, even boring: that #MeToo movement is hypocritical & over-immigration would rip France apart.