Brigitte Bardot, 1934 – 2025.

The ultimate French screen goddess hath departed this unworthy realm. Thank you, chère dame, for a life and body of work that ennobled it. Dazzling, divisive, indelible: she taught the camera to breathe, and then elected silence. Brigitte Bardot, 1934–2025.

Copyright 2025, Arthur Newhook.

“A goddess sculpted in scandal”: Pauline Bonaparte, born 20 October 1780

Illustration: Robert Lefèvre, c. 1806

“I do not believe that any man in the world is more unfortunate in his family than I am.”—attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte.

Born upon this day in 1780 was Pauline Bonaparte—Napoleon’s younger sister and, by the common testimony of her age, the most resplendently ungovernable spirit of that singular house. Beauty and scandal clung to her as fragrance to the rose; she was at once enchantress and provocation—adored and exasperating in the same breath.

From girlhood she displayed an audacity rare even amidst the licentious airs of post-revolutionary France: quick of wit, irreverent in laughter, her appetites untamed by convention or consequence. Marriage to General Leclerc did little to school her passions; widowhood, yet less. When she later became Princess Borghese, it was less an elevation than an improvisation—a courtesan’s art reborn beneath the veil of nobility.

In Rome she became as a living fable. Her snow-white steeds were shod with silver; her raiment so diaphanous that even the world-wearied salons of the Eternal City blushed for shame. Painters adored her; prelates despaired; and ambassadors, once masters of intrigue, found their composure scattered before her smile.

At last, rumour’s tide did reach Paris. Napoleon, ever the jealous sentinel of family decorum, addressed to her a missive befitting a patriarch grown weary—a letter of admonition couched in the language of exile and restraint. She obeyed in semblance, for a season; in spirit, never. No imperial edict could subdue a nature so gloriously insubordinate.

In Pauline the contradictions of the Bonapartes found their most glittering consummation—grace entwined with folly, splendour interlaced with ruin. She was, as one astonished contemporary styled her, ‘a goddess sculpted in scandal’. And perchance, in the vast theatre of human history, she grasped the meaning of fame with an instinct swifter and truer than that of her conquering brother himself. —Arthur Newhook, 20 October 2025.

Copyright 2025, Arthur Newhook.

ANCESTRY, AI, AND THE THREADS THAT BIND

On a Monday afternoon, apropos of nothing, and on a self-imposed news hiatus, making no effort to engage with the current tribulations of this declining world. I am instead experimenting with the latest iteration of ChatGPT, version 5, to which I submitted my current Facebook profile photograph, asking it to deduce my ethnicity. It correctly surmised that I am of predominantly Germanic and Celtic heritage, and, once I had confirmed its conclusion and enumerated the nations from which my ancestry derives, it produced for me the accompanying map.

In truth, I have little justification for including the blue-shaded regions—France, Belgium, and the Netherlands—since my known lineage from those lands is extremely minimal and dates back to just a scant few select ancestors from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries who assimilated into German families. But I included them anyway. Could have also included Canada and the United States itself, as I have ancestors who were among the original Puritan founders of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York, and whose descendents were Loyalists who fled to the Maritimes after the American Revolution. ‘Canadian’ and ‘American’, however, are not really ethnicities unless one is of native blood (I am not). There is also the possibility that, through my maternal line, I may possess some measure of Eastern European ancestry. My mother was adopted as a young girl and never knew the identity of her father, though her birth mother claimed he was of Polish origin. My mother, however, has ever doubted the truth of this assertion, regarding herself as of purely English and Irish descent. A DNA test I once undertook disclosed no trace of Eastern European heritage (putting aside that Saxons, Celts, et al. all originated in areas in and around the Kievan Rus’ thousands of years ago); yet I harbour some doubt as to the accuracy of those things, despite the results aligning precisely with the findings of my own research and what I feel in my being.

The yellow-marked nations denote the principal sources of my bloodline, England above all and Germany not too far behind; yet Denmark—and, indeed, Ireland—*perhaps* ought likewise to be shaded yellow. One of my grandmothers, the aforementioned neglectful mother of my own, was born in Galway, Ireland in 1910 (raised in County Mayo), while a great-grandmother—my paternal grandmother’s mother—was born near Copenhagen in the 1890s. The Irish-born grandmother was at least half English and may have possessed Scottish ancestry as well. My paternal great-grandmother was indisputably Danish (her brother, my great-uncle Julius, visited us for a spell when I was but a very young boy, circa 1982; he was, of course, quite advanced in years and by then entirely blind.); yet, as the Danes are a Germanic people, I tend to regard my Danish heritage as an extension of my considerable German lineage, much as I see my Irish and Scottish heritage as twin branches of the same Celtic tree. Rightly or wrongly, I suppose. To be honest, I really do not feel very Irish in my soul, though maybe a tad Scottish; another story for another day.

Anyhow, whether I ought to be impressed by ChatGPT’s aptitude in this regard or faintly disquieted, I cannot say. AI shall prove both a blessing and a curse, ushering in remarkable progress yet also certain horrors—much like the Industrial Revolution itself, I suppose. Still, with such tools now at our disposal, few can claim legitimate cause for boredom, and ignorance has ever fewer excuses in an age where so much knowledge lies at our very fingertips. —Arthur Newhook, 11 August 2025.

Copyright 2025, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 on X-TWITTER, and at the same handle on FACEBOOK. BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. REDDIT - https://www.reddit.com/r/StopTheIdiocracy/new/. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Born #OTD 1903: Claudette Colbert

Actress Claudette Colbert in ‘The Sign of the Cross’, 1932, Paramount Pictures

Born in Saint-Mandé, France, on 13 September 1903, the future Hollywood goddess Claudette Colbert (née Émilie Chauchoin) emigrated to Manhattan with her family in 1906, just before her third birthday. She grew up bilingual in French and English. With her precise, aristocratic Mid-Atlantic accent and sharp sense of humour, Ms Colbert enchanted Hollywood audiences during her tenure with Paramount in the 1930s. In 1935, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for ‘It Happened One Night’, and received two further nominations, in 1936 and 1945. 

A Chesterfield cigarette ad starring Claudette Colbert

After 1940, she left Paramount to become a freelancer, an uncommon path in the film industry at the time, and continued to be a box office success. As late as 1987, she was awarded a Golden Globe for her role in the television mini-series ‘The Two Mrs. Grenvilles’. Claudette Colbert was also known as an avid Republican, though methinks she would not find a place in today’s MAGA-leaning, Christian nationalist GOP, as she was a childless woman who lived life on her own terms. She departed this ungrateful world at the age of 92 at her vacation home in Barbados, having lived a full and independent life.

Claudette Colbert in 'Bluebeard's Eighth Wife', 1938 Paramount

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Born #OTD 1970: Claudia Schiffer

Photo: Wayne Maser

Claudia Schiffer, the German supermodel who emulated the French goddess Brigitte Bardot like no other, is 54 years old today and still as beautiful as ever.

Photo: Model Claudia Schiffer graces the scene in a black swimsuit embellished with white polka dots. Kneeling upon a beach blanket, her hand rests gently upon her chest. Her hair, slightly disheveled by the breeze, complements her serene expression. The vast expanse of the ocean and distant umbrellas create a tranquil, summery backdrop.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Born #OTD 1520: Madeleine of Valois, a Summer Queen of fleeting reign. A teenage French princess who ascended to Scotland’s throne through an arranged marriage, only to succumb to illness almost immediately

AI generated image

Madeleine of Valois was born on 10 August 1520, the daughter of King Francis I of France. Nurtured in the gentle embrace of the temperate Loire Valley, under the watchful eye of her aunt Marguerite, the young princess fell prey to the insidious grasp of consumption at the tender age of 16. Yet, fate decreed a different path. The Treaty of Rouen, forged between France and Scotland, promised a princess to wed King James V. With ardent pleas, James won the heart of Francis, who entrusted his fragile daughter to him. Alas, the king's fears for his daughter’s health proved prophetic, for the harsh winds of Scotland were unkind to Madeleine's delicate frame. In the arms of her grieving husband, she yielded to death's cold embrace on 7 July 1537. The gentlewoman Madame de Montrueil penned her sorrow, describing Madeleine’s plight: (she) ‘had no good days after her arrival there [in Scotland], but was always sickly with a catarrh which descended into her stomach, which was the cause of her death’.

A cruel twist of fate befell her mortal remains, for 239 years after her passing, desecrators plundered her tomb at Holyrood Palace, stealing her head—which, according to legend, was allegedly untouched by the hands of time and still ‘beautiful’. Despite my admittedly brief research, it appears that her head was never found, and her stolen beauty remains lost to the world. A tragic end for a Summer Queen, yet her spirit, like a star, verily endures in the celestial expanse.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Bastille Day: Catherine Deneuve in 'La Sirène du Mississippi' (Mississippi Mermaid), 1969

Photo: Les Artistes Associés

Whereas today is Bastille Day, we turn our gaze to the land of Gaul and one of its most esteemed actresses, the incomparable Catherine Deneuve. Shown here in a scene from the 1969 crime drama 'Mississippi Mermaid', she stands poised and elegant, leaning gracefully against a marble mantelpiece, her arms crossed in front of her. She is attired in a dark, long-sleeved garment and high-waisted fishnet tights that cling most becomingly to her shapely legs. Her hair, a cascade of gold, is styled in a voluminous updo, and her visage exudes a divine calmness and an air of confidence. Behind her, a large mirror reflects her noble profile. The chamber itself speaks of refined taste, with an ornate clock gracing the mantelpiece and a painted backdrop adding to the scene. Catherine Deneuve’s timeless elegance and presence holds one captive. A beauty that transcends the ages, a marvel to be treasured. Thank you kindly for this much, at least, France.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Born #OTD 1904: Lili Damita

Warner Bros.

Upon this day, one hundred and twenty years ago, model, dancer, and actress Lili Damita graced the world with her presence, born in the fair town of Blaye, France. After a degree of success in the German cinema, she ventured to Hollywood in 1928, working for various studios over the next decade.

In 1935, she would take Errol Flynn, a young actor yet to achieve renown, as her husband. Alas, their union was fated to be short-lived, and Flynn later claimed her demeanor to be erratic and even violent throughout their seven years of marriage. Many years hence, their son, Sean Flynn, a photojournalist, vanished without a trace in Cambodia, during the brutal reign of the Khmer Rouge. He was never to be found, and was presumed dead in 1984. 

Lili Damita succumbed to the cruel clutches of Alzheimer's disease in the year 1994, at the age of 89.

Photo: A promotional still from the 1932 film 'The Match King' features a cheerful Lili Damita emerging from a small, old-fashioned bathtub, a towel chastely wrapped about her form. Behind her stands an older woman, played by Greta Meyer, holding up another towel to provide additional cover.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Farewell to the masterfully melancholic French actress, Anouk Aimée: 1932-2024

Actress Anouk Aimée in 'Lola' (1961). She cuts a striking figure in a seductive ensemble. The outfit features an intricately detailed lace corset, a feather boa draped around her shoulders, and a tall top hat, which she adjusts with a steady hand. Her expression is one of poise and confidence, with slightly parted lips and an intense gaze. Soft waves in her hair complete the overall glamorous and theatrical look. Photo: Euro-International Films.

A pillar of French cinema for many decades, the celebrated Anouk Aimée, known as 'an icon of doomed romance', has passed away at the age of 92. This remarkably beautiful actress also made her mark on Hollywood, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in 'A Man and a Woman' (1966).

BBC: French film star Anouk Aimée dies aged 92 - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clllev363y3o

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

#DDay 1944: The liberation of Europe from Nazi tyranny commenced with the Allied invasion of occupied France

Allied soldiers on the eve of the D-Day landings, Normandy, 1944. Photo: Getty Images.

Today, we commemorate all those who stormed the Normandy beaches on the 80th anniversary of the pivotal event in the 20th century. Their bravery and sacrifice secured a period of relative peace, prosperity, and stability that lasted up until recent years. I fear a conflict of this scale and with such perilous consequences will have to be fought again. And I worry that this time, #Murcia might not be on the righteous side. Heaven help us all.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Born #OTD 1898: Arletty

A publicity shot of French actress Arletty, for ‘Hôtel du Nord’, 1938. Photo: Bridgeman Images. 

French actress, singer, and model Léonie Marie Julie Bathiat, professionally known as Arletty, entered this mortal coil on 15 May 1898 in the Paris suburb of Courbevoie. Notorious for her dalliance with Nazi Luftwaffe officer Hans-Jürgen Soehring during the dark days of her homeland’s occupation in the crucible of World War II, she was convicted of treason in 1945 and served eighteen months in confinement for this crime. Yet, the French people did prove to be a forgiving lot and Arletty's stage and film career resumed by 1948 and flourished into the 1960s. In 1995, the French government honoured her memory by printing a limited edition coin with her visage. Arletty lived to the ripe age of 94, departing on 23 July 1992.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social, and @arthurnewhook on POST. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Born #OTD 1941: Claudine Auger

Claudine Auger and Sean Connery in 'Thunderball', 1965 United Artists via Getty Images

The French beauty who lit up the screen as the Bond Girl ‘Domino’ opposite Sean Connery in 1965’s ‘Thunderball’, Claudine Auger was born on 26 April 1941 in Paris.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social, and @arthurnewhook on POST. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Film review: Brigitte Bardot dans ‘Et Dieu … crea la femme’ (‘And God Created Woman’) 1956

Brigitte Bardot with Jean-Louis Trintignant in ‘And God Created Woman’, 1956. Photo: Criterion Collection

A French film and young star that caused a worldwide sensation - almost anon becoming the most successful foreign-language film in the United States up to that time - I, in mine own person, do not find Roger Vadim’s 1956 blockbuster 'And God Created Woman' to be an enjoyable experience. Its plot is shallow and, at times, convoluted, and grows increasingly tiresome as the film progresses.

While undeniably and exceptionally attractive, the character of 18-year-old Juliette Hardy is an entirely unsympathetic, spoiled brat. Granted, the film's central theme revolves around the character's arrogance and sense of entitlement, but it is laid on quite thick. If only the writers had provided us with a genuine protagonist to engage with. Instead, every supporting character presented here - aside from, perhaps, the pet rabbit - comes across as utterly impossible to root for, most merely appearing as hopeless and pathetic dupes for a young woman 'made to destroy men'. 

Verily, my lack of enjoyment of this movie stems from being a jaded and cynical 46-year-old man who recognises that many fair appearances mask darker truths beneath. Lord knows, I am excessively weary of witnessing individuals ensnared by ancient deceits and timeless falsehoods, thusly shaping my outlook on the world. Yet, despite my reservations, at certain junctures this movie gives the impression that its sole intent was to flaunt Brigitte Bardot’s body in its zenith. Had the producers not bothered with any pretense of a plot, I would not voice grievance. In her time, this lady was historically stunning eye candy, but we have countless images documenting her unearthly eroticism and allure. Spending any length of time with this movie will only convince one that beauty is skin deep and often serves as a mere facade masking inner ugliness.

Alas, that would seem to be precisely the larger point Roger Vadim and the producers may have been going for, and in this they do succeed, but excessively so. ‘And God Created Woman’ is a film that possesses one notable merit: Brigitte Bardot selling her sensuality as few women who have ever graced the stage and screen have accomplished. Ultimately, howbeit, one is left feeling flat and not particularly enamoured with humanity in general by the end of its 91 minutes.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social, and @arthurnewhook on POST. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Renée Adorée, 1898-1933

Renée Adorée, the enchanting French actress of both stage and silver screen, is elegantly captured in this photograph by Alfred Cheney Johnston. Throughout the 1920s, she shone as one of Hollywood's brightest stars, reaching the zenith of her career in the iconic role of Melisande alongside John Gilbert in the 1925 war romance 'The Big Parade'. This cinematic masterpiece garnered worldwide acclaim, accruing between $18 and $22 million - a prodigious feat equivalent to $319 to $390 million in 2024 money. In fact, 'The Big Parade' held the distinction of MGM's highest-grossing film until the release of 'Gone With the Wind' in 1939. Adorée graced numerous other MGM productions, some of which are now deemed 'lost'. With the onset of the sound era, she seemed poised for even greater stardom, unveiling her vocal talents. Alas, her promising career was curtailed by the scourge of tuberculosis in 1930, and would eventually claim her life at the tender age of 35. Her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is at 1601 Vine Street.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social, and @arthurnewhook on POST. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Danielle Darrieux, 1917-2017

Wikimedia Commons

Esteemed French actress Danielle Darrieux was one of her country’s foremost luminaries of the silver screen for eight decades, also leaving her mark in Hollywood as a star for Universal in the 1930s, and intermittently for MGM in the 1950s. Alongside her acting prowess, she showcased her talents in singing and dancing, gracing many musicals. Her breakthrough role arrived as Marie Vetsera in the 1936 French historical drama 'Mayerling', starring opposite Charles Boyer.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social, and @arthurnewhook on POST. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Born #OTD 1921: Simone Signoret

Renowned French actress Simone Signoret as the title character in 1948’s ‘Dédée d'Anvers’.

Copyright 2024, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on X, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, BLUESKY - @arthurnewhook.bsky.social, and @arthurnewhook on POST. DONATIONS GRATEFULLY ACCEPTED at https://tinyurl.com/ArthurNewhook.

Rest in Peace, Jane Birkin

Jane Birkin: An English woman who morphed into a French woman. And damn, was this woman ever sexy. Perhaps this is too much information, but I am becoming seriously aroused while going through pictures of her, and even all the ones where she is hanging over that oddball Serge Gainsbourg. I figure Serge must have made some sort of deal with the devil to have nabbed her, and also Brigitte Bardot. No other explanation for that weirdness. Jane Birkin was weird, but in the most alluring of ways. She was not without physical flaws - most notably her considerably flat-chest, one that would almost certainly disqualify almost any other aspiring female superstar - and yet managed to make herself one of the sexiest creatures to ever grace this cold, gray earth through sheer willpower and force of personality. A truly remarkable figure, she will be missed. 

Copyright 2023, Arthur Newhook. @Sunking278 and @FloydEtcetera on TWITTER, and at the same handles on FACEBOOK. MASTODON - @ArthurNewhook@mastodon.world, and @arthurnewhook on POST and THREADS.