Brigitte Bardot's funeral will be held next week in French Riviera resort of Saint-Tropez

PARIS (AP) — The funeral for Brigitte Bardot will be held next week in Saint-Tropez, the glamorous French Riviera resort she helped make famous and where she lived for more than a half-century, local authorities said.

The cinema star and animal rights activist died Sunday at the age of 91 at her home in southern France.

A ceremony is scheduled on Jan. 7 at the Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption Catholic Church and will be broadcast on two large screens set up at the port and on the Place des Lices central square, Saint-Tropez town hall said in a statement Monday.

The burial will then take place “in the strictest privacy” at a cemetery overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, according to the statement. The ceremony will be followed by a public homage for fans at a nearby site.

“Brigitte Bardot will forever be associated with Saint-Tropez, of which she was the most dazzling ambassador,” the statement said. “Through her presence, personality and aura, she marked the history of our town.”

The movie star settled in her Riviera villa, La Madrague, in Saint-Tropez and retired from the film industry in 1973 at age 39.

The so-called marine cemetery, where Bardot’s parents are buried, is also the final resting place of other celebrities, including filmmaker Roger Vadim, Bardot’s first husband.

Bardot’s younger sister, Marie-Jeanne Bardot, known as Mijanou, posted on Facebook a photo of Brigitte at age 12, accompanied by a message honoring “the one I adored more than anything.”

She wrote that Bardot now “knows whether our beloved pets are waiting for us on the other side.

“Let her not be afraid, and let her instead be in the love and joy of reuniting with them all.”

A flower lays by a statue representing actor Brigitte Bardot in Saint-Tropez, southern France, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025 after the French 1960s sex symbol who became one of the greatest screen sirens of the 20th century and later a militant animal rights activist and far-right supporter, has died. She was 91. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)

A poster showing actor Brigitte Bardot and flowers hang near Brigitte Bardot's home in Saint-Tropez, southern France, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025 after the French 1960s sex symbol who became one of the greatest screen sirens of the 20th century and later a militant animal rights activist and far-right supporter, has died. She was 91. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)

Flowers lay at actor Brigitte Bardot's home in Saint-Tropez, southern France, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025 after the French 1960s sex symbol who became one of the greatest screen sirens of the 20th century and later a militant animal rights activist and far-right supporter, has died. She was 91. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)

A woman and her dog lay a Teddy bear at actor Brigitte Bardot's home in Saint-Tropez, southern France, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025 after the French 1960s sex symbol who became one of the greatest screen sirens of the 20th century and later a militant animal rights activist and far-right supporter, has died. She was 91. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)

A woman touches a poster showing actor Brigitte Bardo near her home in Saint-Tropez, southern France, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025 after the French 1960s sex symbol who became one of the greatest screen sirens of the 20th century and later a militant animal rights activist and far-right supporter, has died. She was 91. (AP Photo/Philippe Magoni)

PARIS (AP) — Call them Monsieur and Madame Clooney.

France’s government says that George Clooney, his wife Amal and their twins Ella and Alexander have been awarded French citizenship.

The naturalizations of the Kentucky-born star of the “Oceans” series of heist movies and his family were announced last weekend in the Journal Officiel, where French government decrees are published.

The government notice indicated that human rights lawyer Amal Clooney was naturalized under her maiden name, Amal Alamuddin. It also noted that George Clooney's middle name is Timothy.

The couple purchased an estate in France in 2021. In an interview with Esquire in October, Clooney described their “farm in France” as their primary residence — a decision the 64-year-old actor and his 47-year-old wife made with their children in mind.

“I was worried about raising our kids in L.A., in the culture of Hollywood,” he told the magazine. “I don’t want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi. I don’t want them being compared to somebody else’s famous kids.”

Growing up away from the spotlight in France, “they’re not on their iPads, you know?” he said. "They have dinner with grown-ups and have to take their dishes in. They have a much better life."

Representatives for George Clooney did not respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment Monday.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Clooney retained his American citizenship. Amal Clooney was born in Lebanon and raised in the U.K. The 8-year-old twins were born in London.

FILE - George Clooney kisses the hand of his wife Amal while posing for photographers on the red carpet for the film 'Jay Kelly' during the 82nd edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Aug. 28, 2025. (Photo by Alessandra Tarantino/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - George Clooney and his wife Amal Clooney pose for photographers upon arrival at the screening of the film "The Boys In The Boat," Dec. 3, 2023, in London. (Photo by Alberto Pezzali/Invision/AP, File)