Brigitte Bardot was known worldwide as a model, actress, singer, and cultural icon, but motherhood was a role she openly admitted she never wanted. In her memoir Initiales B.B., Bardot famously wrote:

“I’m not made to be a mother. I’m not adult enough to take care of a child.”

Despite her feelings, Bardot and her then-husband Jacques Charrier welcomed a son, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier, in 1960.

The Birth of Nicolas-Jacques Charrier

Nicolas-Jacques Charrier was born on January 11, 1960, in Paris, during a home birth at the couple’s apartment. According to The New York Times, he weighed 7 pounds at birth.

Bardot later described her pregnancy in deeply emotional and controversialterms, expressing her struggle with becoming a mother and her fear of losing her independence.

Raised Away From Brigitte Bardot

After Bardot and Charrier divorced in 1962, Charrier retained custody of Nicolas. The child was largely raised by his paternal grandparents, with Bardot remaining mostly absent from his upbringing.

Bardot later explained:

“I didn’t bring up Nicolas because I needed roots. I couldn’t be his roots I was lost in that crazy world.”

Attempts to Censor Bardot’s Memoir

Before the release of Initiales B.B., Nicolas and his father attempted to censor passages that referenced them. Their efforts were unsuccessful, and the memoir sparked intense public debate.

The most controversial passages included Bardot describing Nicolas as the “object of my misfortune”, statements that dominated headlines at the time.

Legal Battle Over ‘Initiales B.B.’

Following the book’s publication in 1997, Jacques Charrier and Nicolas sued Bardot for invasion of privacy. The memoir included accusations of abuse and Bardot’s disturbing comparison of her pregnancy to having “a tumor growing inside of me.”

A Paris court ordered Bardot to pay approximately $40,000 in fines.

Jacques Charrier’s Public Response

That same year, Charrier published his own book, My Response to Brigitte Bardot, offering his version of events. He claimed Bardot’s private letters proved she loved Nicolas far more than her memoir suggested.

Charrier passed away in 2025.

Limited Contact Between Mother and Son

Despite their strained relationship, Bardot and Nicolas maintained some contact over the years. In 1992, Bardot married Bernard d’Ormale in Norway, close to where Nicolas lived with his family.

D’Ormale later revealed that Bardot personally called Nicolas before the wedding, hoping he would meet her new husband.

Why Bardot Stopped Speaking About Her Son

In a June 2024 interview, Bardot explained that she stopped publicly discussing Nicolas after promising him she would no longer speak about him in interviews.

Through Nicolas, Brigitte Bardot became both a grandmother and a great-grandmother, though their relationship remained largely private.