Jane Birkin's Real Name: Jane Birkin
Jane Birkin → Jane Birkin
Quick answer: She performed under her own name, Jane Birkin. The Guardian says she was born in London on December 14, 1946, and the BBC and AllMusic independently confirm a London birth in 1946. The Guardian and the BBC both reported her death at 76 on July 16, 2023; the Guardian says she died at her home in Paris. A middle name, Mallory, appears in a Library of Congress record but not in the main sources.
Real name and early life
The Guardian's news obituary says Birkin was born in London on December 14, 1946, to an actor mother and a naval officer father. AllMusic's biography, by John Bush, gives London and 1946, and says she followed her mother into acting. The Library of Congress name file records the form Jane Mallory Birkin, citing a newspaper obituary.
AllMusic says that as a teenager she made her stage debut in Graham Greene's Carving a Statue in 1964 and was then cast in Passion Flower Hotel, a musical produced by the composer John Barry, whom she soon married. The Guardian says she married Barry at 17 and that the marriage lasted three years.
Career highlights
AllMusic lists her first film, The Knack... and How to Get It (1965), and says Blow-Up (1966) made her semi-famous; the Guardian also credits Blow-Up with her rise. The Guardian says she moved to France in 1968, at 22, to star in Slogan opposite Serge Gainsbourg. The BBC agrees they met on the set of Slogan and says their duet "Je t'aime... moi non plus" was recorded in 1968.
All three sources describe the song's notoriety. The BBC says it was banned on radio in several countries and condemned by the Vatican, and AllMusic says it still reached number one in Britain in 1969. AllMusic also names the 1971 album Histoire de Melody Nelson. The BBC says their daughter is the actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg.
The sources differ slightly on when the couple parted: AllMusic says 1980, while the BBC says 1981. The BBC says she went on to release albums including Baby Alone in Babylone (1983) and Amour des Feintes (1990), appeared in about 70 films, and inspired the Hermès Birkin bag, first produced in 1984.
Death
The Guardian reported on July 16, 2023, that she had died at her home in Paris, aged 76. The BBC reported her death at 76 on the same day. The Associated Press also reported her death at 76.
Name notes for searchers
People looking up Jane Birkin or Jane Mallory Birkin are looking for the same performer. Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kate Barry were her daughters.
FAQ
What was Jane Birkin's real name?
She used her own name. A library record adds the middle name Mallory.
When and where was she born?
The Guardian gives December 14, 1946, in London.
What song is she best known for?
"Je t'aime... moi non plus," recorded with Serge Gainsbourg.
When did she die?
The Guardian and the BBC reported her death on July 16, 2023, at 76.