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.
Exercice en forme de z
Jane Birkin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A sa visite au zoo
Zazie suçant son Zan
S'amusait d'un ver luisant
D'Isidore Isou
Quant zut! Un vent blizzard
Fusant de son falzar
Voici zigzaguant dans les airs
L'oiseau
Des îles est pris au zoom
Par un papparazzi
Zigouilleur visionnaire
De scherzi de Mozart
Drôle de zigoto
Zieuteur du genre blasé
Mateur de photos osées
Zazie
Sur les vents alizés
S'éclate dans l'azur
Aussi légère que bulle d'Alka Seltzer
Elle visionne le zoo
Survolant chimpanzés
Gazelles lézards zébus buses et grizzlis d'Asie
L'oiseau
Des îles est pris au zoom
Par l'autre zèbre, bonne zigue
Zazie le fusillant d'un bisou
Lui fait voir son bazar
Son zip et Zippo
Fendu de A jusqu'à Zo
The lyrics to Jane Birkin's song "Exercice en forme de z" follow the whimsical and playful adventures of a character named Zazie. The lyrics reference her visit to the zoo and her enjoyment of a glowing worm, mentioned in relation to Isidore Isou, founder of the Lettrist movement. Suddenly, a blizzard of wind takes Zazie and her blazer soaring through the air, where she enjoys flying over the animals in the zoo, including chimpanzees, gazelles, lizards, zebras, and Asian grizzly bears. The lyrics then shift their focus to an island bird captured in the zoom of a paparazzi's camera, a "visionary killer" of Mozart's scherzi, who enjoys taking risqué photos. Suddenly, Zazie flies in to shoot the paparazzi with a kiss, revealing her own collection of items such as a zipper and Zippo lighter, which she brands with the same "z" that characterizes the overall song.
Overall, "Exercice en forme de z" is a playfully nonsensical song that uses the recurring letter "z" to connect its various scenarios of Zazie's adventures at the zoo and interactions with the paparazzi. It is a joyful and whimsical song that invites the listener to imagine along with Zazie as she explores the world around her.
Line by Line Meaning
Zazie
The singer, Jane Birkin, introduces the character of Zazie.
A sa visite au zoo
Zazie is at the zoo, presumably to have a fun day out.
Zazie suçant son Zan
Zazie is enjoying a sweet, possibly a candy called Zan, and sucking on it.
S'amusait d'un ver luisant
Zazie finds amusement in a shiny, glowing worm.
D'Isidore Isou
This line refers to the Romanian-born French poet Isidore Isou, but its connection to the rest of the song is unclear.
Quant zut! Un vent blizzard
Zazie is suddenly hit by a strong gust of cold wind.
Fusant de son falzar
The wind is blowing up Zazie's trousers, causing them to puff up.
Voici zigzaguant dans les airs
Zazie is now flying erratically in the air due to the wind.
Zazie et son Blazer
Zazie is wearing a Blazer, a type of jacket, which is likely flapping in the wind.
L'oiseau
A bird is introduced in this segment of the song.
Des îles est pris au zoom
The bird is being photographed up close by a paparazzi using a zoom lens.
Par un papparazzi
The bird is being harassed by a photographer taking pictures of it without its consent.
Zigouilleur visionnaire
The photographer is described as a visionary killer, possibly referring to the way they capture and exploit animals through their photography.
De scherzi de Mozart
The photographer has a connection to the music of Mozart, but it is unclear how this relates to the rest of the song.
Drôle de zigoto
The photographer is a strange character.
Zieuteur du genre blasé
The photographer is a jaded, cynical observer of the world around them.
Mateur de photos osées
The photographer takes lewd and scandalous photos.
Sur les vents alizés
Zazie is now flying on the trade winds, which are steady winds that blow towards the equator.
S'éclate dans l'azur
Zazie is enjoying the blue sky around her.
Aussi légère que bulle d'Alka Seltzer
Zazie feels very light as if she is a bubble of Alka Seltzer, a medicine that dissolves in water and fizzes up.
Elle visionne le zoo
Zazie is observing the various animals in the zoo from above.
Survolant chimpanzés
Zazie flies over the chimpanzees in the zoo.
Gazelles lézards zébus buses et grizzlis d'Asie
Zazie also flies over various other animals in the zoo, including gazelles, lizards, zebras, bison, and Asian grizzly bears.
Par l'autre zèbre, bonne zigue
Another person, depicted as a zebra, is now introduced in the song. They are friendly and happy to see Zazie.
Zazie le fusillant d'un bisou
Zazie kisses the zebra to greet them.
Lui fait voir son bazar
Zazie shows the zebra around her chaotic and disorganized world.
Son zip et Zippo
Zazie shows the zebra her zipper and Zippo, which are possibly references to her clothing or belongings.
Fendu de A jusqu'à Zo
Zazie's world is cracked open from A to Z, suggesting it is full of surprises and perhaps chaos.
Contributed by Ethan F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.