FILE PHOTO: Brigitte Bardot the former French film star turned animal rights activist at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, June 9, 2006. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo
PARIS (Reuters) -Reclusive former French movie star Brigitte Bardot, 91, has been hospitalized for the past three weeks in Toulon, near her home in Saint-Tropez, local newspaper Var-Matin reported on its website on Thursday.
She underwent surgery related to a "serious illness", the newspaper said, citing unidentified sources. Her condition is "worrying", it added.
Bardot became world famous in the fifties and sixties for her free-spirited performances and sexual magnetism in a series of movies. As a singer, she also released several records during that time.
She stopped acting in the seventies, permanently moved to the French Riviera town of Saint-Tropez, and dedicated herself to the animal welfare cause through a foundation in her name.
The Brigitte Bardot Foundation did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Alessandro Parodi; Editing by GV De Clercq and Toby Chopra)
