By Anna Fitzpatrick

Say the name “Birkin” and most fashionistas will automatically think of the notoriously luxurious Hermès bag with a three year waiting list.  Jane Birkin, the bag’s namesake, is every bit as iconic as the purse named after her.

Jane Birkin, born December 14th, 1946, grew up in London just as the Swinging 60s were taking over – a time in which models like Twiggy filled the pages of Vogue.  Unlike Twiggy, however, Birkin’s fame was concentrated outside of Britain and the U.S., in a little city called Paris.

Heavily influenced by her mother, who was also an actress, Birkin first appeared in Michelangelo Antonioni’s film Blowup before making the move to France.  Although only in her early twenties, by this age Birkin had a daughter Kate Barry (born April 8, 1967) with her husband John Barry - a marriage that ended by 1968.

Birkin had small roles in several films, both French and English, before landing the starring role in 1969’s Slogan.  During the making of the film, Birkin became enamoured with her Slogan co-star Serge Gainsbourg and the two immediately wed.  They frequently combined their artistic talents and recorded their first song together in 1969.  The song 'Je t’aime….moi non plus' created a controversy over its provocative lyrics, which only helped to propel Birkin’s career.   When Gainsbourg made the switch to directing films in 1975, he would cast Birkin as his leading lady.  The couple had one daughter together, Charlotte Gainsbourg, (born 21 July 1971) before divorcing in 1980.