Jane Birkin

A confessional songwriter and a captivating singer, actress Jane Birkin has consistently transcended her glamour. Born in London in 1946, Birkin set England swinging in avant-garde films like 1966’s Blow-Up. A costarring role with French pop genius Serge Gainsbourg in 1969’s Slogan led to romance and to a remarkable series of daringly erotic hit collaborations, including “Je t'aime moi non plus” (French for “I love you… me neither”), “Ballade de Melody Nelson,” and “69 année érotique.” The couple released five albums together before their 1980 split; still, Birkin continued to perform Gainsbourg’s music in a variety of settings. Following 1990’s Amours des feintes, her final recording of fresh Gainsbourg material, she released Arabesque (2002), which documented a live concert of Gainsbourg music set to North Africa-inspired arrangements, and the 2017 symphonic tribute Birkin/Gainsbourg: Le symphonique. She also wrote and recorded original material, most notably 2020’s Oh! Pardon tu dormais… (Oh! Sorry You Were Sleeping), a liltingly confessional act of defiance in the face of mortality.