Being a celebrity child comes with the perks of being famous especially if you are one of three children born to Jane Birkin, an actress, and singer whom Hermes even named a bag after. The Death on the Nile actress welcomed three children, Kate Barry, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Lou Doillon with three different men one of them being John Barry, her ex-husband.
Like their famous mother, Jane Birkin’s children took a cue and established themselves as successful celebrities in their own right. While Kate made a name for herself as a fashion photographer who worked for brands like Vogue and Sunday Times Magazine, Jane’s youngest children are more in sync with their mothers career as actresses and singers. The Marylebone-born actress lost her oldest child, Kate in 2013 after she fell from an apartment building.
On July 16, 2023, Birkin made the news after her demised body was found and this has once more put her in the spotlight. As it is, details about the children she had in her lifetime provides us another angle to remember the talented entertainer.
Jane Birkin’s Children: Let’s Meet All Three
Kate Barry
Born Kate Barry Prendergast on April 8, 1967, she is the oldest among the Swimming Pool actress’ children. Her mother had her during her shortlived marriage with the the Britsih composer and conductor of film music, John Barry. Following her parents split, Kate was raised in France by Birkin and her lover Serge Gainsbourg. This affected her relationship with her father. Thankfully, they were able to rectify it after her mother and Serge split.
More about Kate’s life, she struggled with drug use for most of her life. Though she found a sense of direction when she discovered photography and fashion, this only helped to reduce the effect of the hard lifestyle. She channeled her talent into taking unique photos when she launched her career in the mid 90s.
For people who followed her work, what stood out was her passion for putting women in front of her lens. She snapped people like Tilda Swinton, Monica Bellucci, and Catherine Deneuve among many others. She explained her decision to portray women by stating that photography is building a world around women.
Her attention to capture the essence and beauty of women is not lost on many as she did advertisements and campaigns for brands like lipton, Pierre Cardin, and Dior Perfumes among others. Her work was also featured in reputable magazines such as Vogue and Sunday Times Magazine.
Looking closely at her love life and whether she had any child, we found out that she was in a romantic relationship with Pascal Huon with whom she welcomed a child, Roman de Kermadec in 1987.
The Photographer Died Tragically in 2013
The news of Kate’s death broke out on December 11, 2013 after she allegedly fell from her fourth floor apartment in Paris. The reports point towards suicide given her history with drug use. It would be recalled that this issues had plagued her career and she found ways to manage it through her work and a charity organization she founded named Aide et Prévention des Toxicodépendances par l’Entraide.
Regardless, she struggled with this issue at different points in her life. Unsurprisingly, the circumstances around her death was linked to suicide. Despite this, her sister, Charlotte refuted this claim by linking Kate’s death to accident instead of suicide.
Charlotte Gainsbourg
She was born Charlotte Lucy Gainsbourg on July 21, 1971 during her mother’s 12 year relationship with the French musician Serge Gainsbourg. She was exposed to movie sets and music from a young age and this would shape the course of her career. Infact, she was in the middle of several controversies involving her parents such as her debut song Lemon Incest which many believe describes the relationship between her and her father. Also, she was involved in a failed kidnapping in 1987.
Away from this, Charlotte made her movie debut in the 1984 Paroles et Musique. Subsequently, she appeared in many movies and even shared the screen with her mother in Kung Fu Master.
Focusing on her love life, the Jane Iyre actress is still together with Yvan Attal, a fellow actor whom she met on the set of Aux yeux du Monde. They have been together for over three decades. You may be wondering why they never managed to get married, it turns out that she is reluctant as her parents also never got married.
Regardless of this, the Cesar Award-winning actress is the mother of three children, a son named Ben and two daughters, Alice and Jo. Remarkably, she has a close relationship with Attal’s family and even said to celebrate Jewish festivities with his family.
See Also: French Actresses – Check Out The 10 Most Popular And The Best
Lou Doillon
Born on September 4, 1982 to Birkin and the French director Jacques Doillon during their 13 year-relationship. Like her older sister, she chose a similar career path to that of her parents as an actress and singer and has been active from 1987 when she was 5 years old till now. Doillon dropped out of school to concentrate on her career. Unsurprisingly, she started out as a model at the age of 16 and closely worked with many international brands including Givenchy, Mango, H&M and Barney’s among many others.
She branched out into acting, arts, and singing. Doillon revealed her father influenced her passion for music after her parents parted ways. He would often encourage her to listen to singers like Billie Holiday.
Away from her career, she is the mother of three children, Marlowe Mitchell, Laszlo Manel, and Stéphane Manel. She had her Marlow , her oldest with Thomas-John Mitchell when when she was 19 years old
