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.

Enfants D'hiver
Jane Birkin Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Nous voilà courant,
Visage trop près, flous et
Les corps gris, enfants
D’hiver, rares
Les poils éparpillés
Sur leurs jambes bleutées
Eraflées par les
Epines des jardins défendus

Croyant toute perfidie interdite
Epaves de promesses enfantines
Les lèvres mauves, les plages noires
J’ai passé mes nuits à nous regretter

Il y a un pays
Invérifiable
Inaccessible
Comme les morts
J’ai passé ma vie à le rechercher

Comme un film en super huit
Je ré-embobine ma vie
Ces enfants sur la plage noire
Au regard triomphant
C’était nous, maman, papa
Sublimes fantômes dans
Les entrebaîllements des
Portes de nos vies
Respirations d’hiver
Comme les clopes
Qu’on exhale
Les fous rires
Ça va finir en larmes

Il y a un pays
Invérifiable
Inaccessible
Comme les morts
J’ai passé ma vie à le rechercher
J’ai passé ma vie à les regretter

Il y a un pays
Invérifiable
Inaccessible

Comme les morts
J’ai passé ma vie à les regretter

Overall Meaning

In Jane Birkin's song "Enfants D'hiver," the lyrics explore the theme of nostalgia and longing for a lost time, specifically the winter of childhood. The opening lines depict a scene of people running while their faces are too close and blurred, resembling winter children in a rare moment. The mention of "poils éparpillés sur leurs jambes bleutées" (scattered hairs on their blue-tinged legs) suggests the innocence and vulnerability of these children. The reference to the "épines des jardins défendus" (thorns of forbidden gardens) symbolizes the challenges and struggles of growing up.

The lyrics continue to describe the children as believing all perfidy (treachery) is forbidden, suggesting their naivety and pureness. These winter children are portrayed as wreckage of childhood promises, with pale lips and black beaches, conveying a sense of loss and regret. Jane Birkin sings of spending her nights regretting their past and longing for what was.

The second verse introduces the idea of an unverifiable and inaccessible country, reminiscent of the world of the dead. The repetition of the phrase "J’ai passé ma vie à le rechercher" (I have spent my life searching for it) reflects the singer's lifelong quest for this elusive place, possibly representing a longing for a simpler and happier time. The comparison to a super eight film being rewound suggests a desire to revisit memories and relive the past. The children on the black beach with triumphant looks are reminiscent of the singer's own parents, who are portrayed as sublime ghosts in the cracks of their lives' doors. The phrase "respirations d’hiver comme les clopes qu’on exhale" (winter breaths like exhaled cigarettes) adds to the atmospheric imagery, evoking a sense of fleeting and transient moments.

Overall, "Enfants D'hiver" is a poignant song that captures the longing for the innocence and joy of childhood, as well as the search for a lost place or time that can never be fully regained.

Line by Line Meaning

Nous voilà courant,
Here we are running,

Visage trop près, flous et
Faces too close, blurry and

Les corps gris, enfants
The gray bodies, children

D’hiver, rares
Of winter, rare

Les poils éparpillés
Scattered hairs

Sur leurs jambes bleutées
On their bluish legs

Eraflées par les
Scratched by the

Epines des jardins défendus
Thorns of forbidden gardens

Croyant toute perfidie interdite
Believing all treachery is forbidden

Epaves de promesses enfantines
Wrecks of childish promises

Les lèvres mauves, les plages noires
Purple lips, black beaches