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.
Il fait nuit
Jane Birkin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Chambre qui est moi
Ou plus exactement
Le jour s'efface, je mens
Mais qui est "moi" ?
Rien qu'une mémoire faite
Sur mesure
Aussi sélectifs qu'une
Machine à laver les
Jours ternissent aux marées basses
Tu cries "Tu ne me fais plus envie"
Visage caché, je n'étais qu'un tas
De vêtements mouillés, un cœur qui bat
Amer et si je crachais par terre
J' f'rais un trou dans
Les algues vertes
Il fait sombre dans la
Pièce, là, je joue
Donne-moi la main
J' t' ferai tomber
Dans ce trou
Où tu avais le mauvais rôle
Pas "best of" les essais
Sans bobine, sans film
Ma mémoire imprime
Ma chute de fierté défaite
Je suis qu'une femme laissée
Dans la neige qui fond
Une chose que l'on ne veut plus au fond
Le soir est tombé. Là, j' mens plus
J'ai jeté tes photos en confettis
J'ai déchiré ton image
Flottant doucement sur la plage
Si tu colles les bouts des pages
Tu trouveras sur ton visage
L'œil où la bouche était
Trop lucide où le cœur n'était
Plus là
The song "Il Fait Nuit" by Jane Birkin paints a picture of a dark and lonely room where the singer feels lost and uncertain of her identity. She questions who "moi" (me) really is and describes herself as a mere memory made up of selected and salty recollections. The days are becoming dull and lackluster, and she hears someone crying out that they no longer desire her. She reveals that she was once a bundle of wet clothes with a beating heart, hiding her face and feeling bitter. She fantasizes about spitting on the floor, making a hole in the green algae. The room is now dark, and she plays a game, asking for someone's hand to lead them into a hole where they had previously played the wrong role in a not-so-best-of trial.
The singer's memory is imprinted with the shame of her defeat and fall from pride. She sees herself as a woman left behind in melting snow, someone who is no longer wanted deep down. The evening has arrived, and she no longer lies. She confesses to throwing away photos of someone in a celebratory manner like confetti and tearing up a floating image on the beach. The person is now missing an eye or a mouth, and the heart that once was lucid is no longer there. The song is a melancholic reflection of a person who feels lost and uncertain of their identity and seeks an escape in the fantasy of a hole.
Line by Line Meaning
Il fait nuit dans la
Chambre qui est moi
The room inside me is dark, a reflection of my state of mind
Ou plus exactement
Le jour s'efface, je mens
Actually, it's the day that is fading away, but I'm lying
Mais qui est "moi" ?
But who am I really?
Rien qu'une mémoire faite
Sur mesure
Just a customized memory
Souvenirs salés
Aussi sélectifs qu'une
Machine à laver les
Jours ternissent aux marées basses
Salty memories, as selective as a washing machine. Days fade away with the low tides
Tu cries "Tu ne me fais plus envie"
You scream "You don't attract me anymore"
Visage caché, je n'étais qu'un tas
De vêtements mouillés, un cœur qui bat
Hidden face, I was just a pile of wet clothes, with a beating heart
Amer et si je crachais par terre
J' f'rais un trou dans
Les algues vertes
Bitter, and if I spit on the ground, I'd make a hole in the green seaweed
Il fait sombre dans la
Pièce, là, je joue
Donne-moi la main
J' t' ferai tomber
Dans ce trou
Où tu avais le mauvais rôle
It's dark in the room, and I'm playing. Give me your hand, I'll make you fall into that hole where you played the bad guy
Pas "best of" les essais
Sans bobine, sans film
The attempts were not the "best of", without a reel, without a film
Ma mémoire imprime
Ma chute de fierté défaite
My memory records my fall from defeated pride
Je suis qu'une femme laissée
Dans la neige qui fond
Une chose que l'on ne veut plus au fond
I'm just a woman left in the melting snow, something that one doesn't really want anymore
Le soir est tombé. Là, j' mens plus
J'ai jeté tes photos en confettis
J'ai déchiré ton image
Flottant doucement sur la plage
Night has fallen. Now, I'm not lying. I threw your pictures like confetti, I tore your image floating gently on the beach
Si tu colles les bouts des pages
Tu trouveras sur ton visage
L'œil où la bouche était
Trop lucide où le cœur n'était
Plus là
If you stick the pieces of the pages, you'll find on your face the eyes where the mouth used to be, too clear where the heart wasn't anymore
Contributed by Avery J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.