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.
La Grippe
Jane Birkin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
M'a dit mon amant ce soir
Ça vous donn' un joli teint
Ça vous va mieux que le noir
Ma grippe vous va très bien
Souffrez que je tousse un peu
Lui ai-je dit d'un air doux
Souffrez que je tousse un peu
Souffrez que je souffre un peu
Quand vous souffrez mon amie
M'a répondu mon amant
Vous ressemblez à la pluie
Je trouve ça très seyant
Quand vous souffrez mon amie
J'ai un peu peur et je dis
Que les larmes me vieillissent
Et j'ai un peu peur aussi
Que la fièvre m'enlaidisse
J'ai un peu peur et je dis
Elles vous vont comm' un gant
Vous savez bien que vos larmes
Me plaisent beaucoup vraiment
Votre fièvre a bien du charme
Elles vous vont comm' un gant
Ah ! Vraiment je suis trop maigre
Je sens que je m'affaiblis
N'avez-vous pas de vinaigre
Voyez mes bras et je dis
Ah ! Vraiment je suis trop maigre
Mais ces os vous vont très bien
M'a répondu mon amant
Ne vous inquiétez de rien
Ça vous donn' qu'un air troublant
La mort vous ira très bien
The song "La Grippe" by Jane Birkin is a melodious yet eerie ballad that delves into the strange, twisted ways in which love can manifest. The lyrics speak of a woman who is suffering from a severe bout of the flu ("la grippe" in French) and her lover's disturbingly fetishistic and morbid fascination with her illness. The woman seems almost complicit in this unhealthy dynamic, as she tells her lover to "let her cough a little" and acknowledges that she sometimes has "bad taste." She is desperate for his attention, even if it means sacrificing her health and well-being.
The lover's obsession with the woman's illness is both disturbing and fascinating. He tells her that her tears make her look more beautiful and that her fever has a certain charm. He even goes so far as to say that her impending death will suit her well. The woman seems to be both scared and enthralled by this dark fascination, as she begs him for vinegar to help with her weight loss and insists that her bones look too thin.
Overall, "La Grippe" is a haunting and disturbingly beautiful song that deals with themes of love, obsession, and the macabre. It paints a surreal, macabre picture of a couple who are seemingly caught in a cycle of mutual destruction.
Line by Line Meaning
La grippe vous va très bien
My lover told me tonight that the flu suits you very well.
M'a dit mon amant ce soir
He said to me tonight.
Ça vous donn' un joli teint
It gives you a nice complexion.
Ça vous va mieux que le noir
It suits you better than black.
Ma grippe vous va très bien
My flu suits you very well.
Souffrez que je tousse un peu
Allow me to cough a little.
Lui ai-je dit d'un air doux
I said to him gently.
J'ai parfois très mauvais goût
I sometimes have very bad taste.
Souffrez que je souffre un peu
Allow me to suffer a little.
Quand vous souffrez mon amie
When you suffer, my friend.
M'a répondu mon amant
My lover replied.
Vous ressemblez à la pluie
You look like the rain.
Je trouve ça très seyant
I find that very becoming.
J'ai un peu peur et je dis
I am a little scared and I say.
Que les larmes me vieillissent
That tears age me.
Et j'ai un peu peur aussi
And I am a little scared too.
Que la fièvre m'enlaidisse
That the fever makes me ugly.
Elles vous vont comm' un gant
They fit you like a glove.
Vous savez bien que vos larmes
You know very well that your tears.
Me plaisent beaucoup vraiment
I really like them a lot.
Votre fièvre a bien du charme
Your fever has a lot of charm.
Ah ! Vraiment je suis trop maigre
Ah! Really, I am too thin.
Je sens que je m'affaiblis
I feel like I am weakening.
N'avez-vous pas de vinaigre
Don't you have any vinegar?
Voyez mes bras et je dis
Look at my arms and I say.
Mais ces os vous vont très bien
But these bones suit you very well.
Ne vous inquiétez de rien
Don't worry about anything.
Ça vous donn' qu'un air troublant
It just gives you a haunting look.
La mort vous ira très bien
Death will suit you very well.
Lyrics © EDITIONS MAJESTIC - JACQUES CANETTI, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: Jacques HIGELIN, Brigitte FONTAINE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind