Jane Birkin, OBE (born Jane Mallory Birkin in London on 14 December 1946; d… Read Full Bio ↴Jane Birkin, OBE (born Jane Mallory Birkin in London on 14 December 1946; died 16 July 2023) was an Anglo-French singer and actress. She attained international fame and notability for her decade-long musical (and romantic) partnership with singer Serge Gainsbourg, beginning with the duet Je t'aime... moi non plus released in 1969. Later she made musical collaborations and duets with many artists, including Feist, Bryan Ferry, Franz Ferdinand, The Magic Numbers, Beck, Rufus Wainwright, and many others.

Birkin was born to David Birkin and Judy Campbell, an actress in Noel Coward musicals. Her great aunt was Freda Dudley Ward, a mistress of Edward VIII while he was Prince of Wales.

Birkin emerged in the swinging '60s in London, starring as one of the models in the controversial film Blowup in 1966.

In 1968, Birkin went to France to audition for the lead female role in Slogan. Though she did not speak French, she got the role.

In 1969, she and Serge Gainsbourg released the song "Je t'aime... moi non plus" ("I love you... me neither"), written by Gainsbourg and featuring both of them singing, which caused a scandal for its sexual explicitness. Arguably due in part to the publicity it got from being banned by radio stations in Italy, Sweden, Spain, and the UK, it was a commercial success all over Europe. The song's fame is a result of its salacious lyrics (sung in French) against a background of female moaning and groaning, culminating in an orgasm at the song's conclusion (which some claim to be the result of Jane and Serge actually engaging in sex during the recording of the song).

Birkin took a short break from her acting career in 1971-72, but returned as Brigitte Bardot's lover in Don Juan (or if Don Juan were a woman) in 1973.

In 1975, she appeared in Gainsbourg's first film, also titled Je t'aime... moi non plus, which created quite a stir for its frank examination of sexual ambiguity. For this performance she was nominated for a Best Actress César Award.

Birkin has starred in the Agatha Christie films Death on the Nile and Evil Under the Sun, and recorded several albums, including Baby Alone in Babylone, Amours des Feintes, Lolita Go Home and Rendez-vous. She has obtained in the category Female Artist of the year in France the Victoires de la Musique award in 1992 .

She starred in two films by Jacques Doillon — as Anne in La fille prodigue (1981) and as Alma in La pirate (1984, nominated for a César Award). This work led to an invitation from Patrice Chéreau to star on stage in La Fausse suivante by Marivaux at Nanterre. After this, she also began to appear frequently on stage in plays and concerts (in France, Japan, the UK and then the US).

Jacques Rivette collaborated with her for Love on the Ground (1983) and La belle noiseuse (1991, Nominated Césars best supporting actress). Additionally, she appeared in Merchant Ivory's A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998, also used her song "Di Doo Dah") and Merci Docteur Rey (2002), while Le Divorce's end title song featured her singing "L'Anamour", composed by Serge Gainsbourg.

In 2006, she played Elektra, directed by Philippe Calvario in France.

Jane Birkin's humanitarian interests led her to work with Amnesty International, on immigrant welfare and AIDS issues. Birkin has also visited Bosnia, Rwanda. and Palestinian Territories, often working with children. She has been awarded an OBE for her services to acting, as well as the Ordre National du Mérite in France.

She made musical collaborations and duets with artists such as Feist, Beth Gibbons from Portishead, Bryan Ferry, Brian Molko from Placebo, Franz Ferdinand, Manu Chao, Brett Anderson from Suede, Mickey (3d), Françoise Hardy, Cali, The Divine Comedy, The Magic Numbers, Paolo Conte, Beck, Rufus Wainwright, Yann Tiersen, Alain Souchon, Les Negresses Vertes, Johnny Marr from The Smiths, Zazie, MC Solaar, Yosui Inoue, Étienne Daho, Alain Chamfort, Jimmy Rowles, Goran Bregović, Sonny Landreth, The Soundtrack of Our Lives and many others.

Birkin recorded the song "Beauty" on French producer Hector Zazou's 2003 album Strong Currents.
She is noted as being the inspiration for fashion house Hermès' popular Birkin Bag after the actress was seen struggling with several bags while boarding an aeroplane.
Her image features on the cover art of Have You Fed the Fish? by singer-songwriter Badly Drawn Boy (which features her daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg on backing vocals).
Despite decades of residence in France and the ability to speak French fluently, Birkin still retains a strong English accent and makes grammatical mistakes when speaking French.

Personal Life :
She was married from 1965 until 1968 to John Barry, an English composer who wrote the musical score to the James Bond movies. Their daughter, the photographer Kate Barry, was born in 1968.

Muse of Gainsbourg :
She had a very passionate and creative relationship with her mentor Serge Gainsbourg — they met on the set of Slogan and married in 1968. They separated in 1980. Their daughter is actress Charlotte Gainsbourg.

In 1982 she gave birth to her third daughter, Lou Doillon, from her relationship with the director Jacques Doillon.

14 Février
Jane Birkin Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

L'amour n'est jamais partagé,
Dire que j'ai le cœur brisé
S'rait sans doute exagéré
L'orgueil a pris un coup
Ce soir, c'est vrai, j'ai mal
Dans la sphère du coup

J'ai peine dans la région de l'espoir

Déplacés, les "au revoir"
C'était fait
Tu avais ton manteau imperméable
Contre les vents, les temps variables
Plus besoin d'une chambre à l'abri

Et moi, j'ai gardé dans ma tête
La fenêtre, la tempête
D'une petite chambre perchée
Tes mains qui n' cherchaient
Que l'affection d'une nuit
Sache que cette image-là
Me porte dans ma vie

Ce soir, tu prends ta route tranquille
J' crois même que tu n' penses
Qu'à la prochaine ville
Tu n' t'es même pas retourné
Pas un regard dans le rétro
De ce bus de tournée

Merci l'artiste
Désormais je n' serai plus triste
Un quatorze février, c'est trop banal

{x3:}

Merci pour ce long baiser
Qui, pour moi, a duré toute une année

Overall Meaning

In Jane Birkin's song 14 Février, she sings about heartbreak and the end of a short-lived affair. She starts off by lamenting that love is never shared, indicating that she is the only one feeling hurt in the aftermath of the breakup. However, she acknowledges that her pride has taken a hit and that she is feeling the pain of the loss. She also talks about how her hope has been displaced, indicating that she has lost faith in the future of the relationship. She describes the man leaving with his waterproof coat to face the unpredictable weather, while she is left with the memory of their brief encounter. She remembers the small bedroom they shared and the storm that raged outside, while he was focused only on getting affection for the night. She ends the song by thanking him for a long-lasting kiss that meant so much to her.

Line by Line Meaning

L'amour n'est jamais partagé,
Love is never shared,

Dire que j'ai le cœur brisé
To say my heart is broken

S'rait sans doute exagéré
Would probably be an exaggeration

L'orgueil a pris un coup
My pride has taken a hit

Ce soir, c'est vrai, j'ai mal
Tonight, it's true, I'm hurting

Dans la sphère du coup
In the realm of the blow

J'ai peine dans la région de l'espoir
I feel pain in the region of hope

Déplacés, les "au revoir"
Goodbyes are out of place

C'était fait
It was done

Tu avais ton manteau imperméable
You had your raincoat

Contre les vents, les temps variables
Against the winds, the changing times