Brigitte Bardot, the French actress who set the standard for a generation of female sex symbols in the 1960s and devoted her later life to animal rights, has died. She was 91.

Agence France-Presse reported her death on Sunday, citing a statement from her foundation that didn’t provide details.

The archetype of beauty to millions of men, Bardot spawned an era of curvy, pouting, insouciant actresses with her role as a self-assured small-town sexpot in And God Created Woman (1956). Throughout the 1970s, she was the model for “Marianne”, the female incarnation of the French republic whose profile adorns stamps and coins.

French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Bardot, calling her a “legend” of the 20th century.

“With her films, her voice, her dazzling glory, her initials (BB), her sorrows, her generous passion for animals, and her face that became Marianne, Brigitte Bardot embodied a life of freedom,” Macron wrote on social media. “We mourn a legend of the century.”

But Bardot quit making films at age 39, and she courted controversy with comments about marginalised members of society.