An auction of personal items once owned by the late French film star and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot sold for nearly €1 million in Paris on Monday, far exceeding the initial estimate of around €50,000, according to auction house Millon. The sale included 285 items such as straw hats, sunglasses, nightgowns, tableware, and furniture from Bardot’s homes in Saint-Tropez and Paris. The event attracted significant interest, with around 3,000 bidders registering and approximately 15,000 people attending the five-day exhibition at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris before the sale. Brigitte Bardot, who passed away in December at the age of 91, was a prominent figure in French cinema during the 1950s and 1960s. She retired from acting in the 1970s and became a vocal advocate for animal rights, founding the Brigitte Bardot Foundation in 1986. However, she also became known for her far-right political views, which included strong opposition to immigration and criticism of Muslim communities. Bardot was convicted multiple times for hate speech, and she publicly supported the anti-immigration National Rally party led by Marine Le Pen ahead of the 2027 presidential election. The proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Brigitte Bardot Foundation and to Nicolas-Jacques Charrier, her only child. The foundation, which operates in 70 countries, has helped over 13,000 animals through four shelters and 150 partner facilities, and supports more than 350 animal welfare groups in France. Some of the most expensive items sold included two dog collars with Bardot’s name and phone number, which fetched €9,400, and a self-portrait that sold for nearly €40,000. Other notable sales included her typewriter, used to write her autobiography, which sold for €4,634, and two of her guitars, which sold for €8,600 and €1,900 respectively. The auction was described as a continuation of Bardot’s own efforts in 1987, when she sold some of her most valuable possessions to help establish her foundation. However, the event sparked controversy when Bardot’s last husband, Bernard d’Ormale, criticized the auction as a “joke.” He claimed he was not informed about the sale and disputed the foundation’s claim that it had been approved by the board in June, when he was still its president. D’Ormale also expressed surprise that personal items were included in the auction. This dispute arose just days after he was removed as head of the foundation, a position he had held since Bardot’s death.