Singer Vanessa Paradis and the French president’s wife, Brigitte Macron, were among the famous faces who paid tribute to singer and actress Jane Birkin at her funeral in Paris on Monday.
The British-French style icon, who lent her name to the Hermes Birkin handbag, died earlier this month at the age of 76.
Birkin in 1970. Pic: AP
The London-born star was found at her home in Paris by her carer.
She was best-known for her 1969 hit single “Je t’aime… moi non plus” with then-husband Serge Gainsbourg.
Birkin’s daughters Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon
Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, arrives for the service
Pallbearers carry the coffin into the church
Ms Birkin’s daughters Charlotte Gainsbourg, 51, and Lou Doillon, 40, led mourners into the Church of Saint-Roch.
“I already feel the vacuum she is leaving. This is my mother, our mother,” said Ms Gainsbourg.
“Mother, thank you for not being ordinary and reasonable,” Ms Doillon said.
Catherine Deneuve outside the church
French writer Samuel Benchetrit and singer Vanessa Paradis
Actress Charlotte Rampling
Hundreds of people lined the streets outside the church where they listened to her music, with signs reading “Jane Forever” and “Thank You Jane Birkin”, and watched the ceremony on a giant screen.
Birkin’s songs, including “La Javanaise”, played through speakers across the French capital.
Film stars Catherine Deneuve, Charlotte Rampling and Sandrine Kiberlain were among those who attended the service.
Other mourners included singers Alain Souchon, Etienne Daho, who composed her last album, and Matthieu Chedid.
Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg in 1974
Hermès Birkin handbag. Pic: AP
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French President Emmanuel Macron led tributes when Ms Birkin’s death was announced, saying: “Because she embodied freedom, because she sang the most beautiful words of our language, Jane Birkin was a French icon.”
In France, where she had lived since the late 1960s, she became a well-known and much-loved figure for her songs, roles in dozens of films and the stance she took on a range of issues including women’s and LGBT rights.
