Singer, actor and fashion icon Jane Birkin has passed away. She was 76 years old. She was at her home in Paris at the time of her death. An official cause of death has yet to be released, and it may not be at all related, but she had a mild stroke back in 2021.

When you hear the name Birkin, you may immediately think of the famous and highly coveted Hermès bag. She is actually the inspiration for the Birkin bag. The story goes that she was sitting next to a Hermès executive named Jean-Louis Dumas on a flight. During the flight, it seemed that the Hermès Kelly bag Dumas had wasn’t quite big enough to hold everything she needed it to hold, and things started to spill out. That’s when Birkin suggested making a bag 4 times the size of the Kelly bag, and the result was the Birkin bag, named in her honor.

Back in 2018, Birkin told “Sunday Morning” reporter Anthony Mason that “it could be worse” than possibly being best known for a bag. She joked, “On my obituary it will say ‘Like the bag’ or something.”

Long before she was associated with a bag, Birkin was known as a singer and actress. She grew up in London but moved to Paris when she was 20 years old. In 1968, she met Serge Gainsbourg on the set of the film “Slogan.” They collaborated on multiple projects together including “Je t’aime … moi non plus” which was considered scandalous due to the song’s explicit content. 

Birkin and Gainsbourg had a daughter together, Charlotte Gainsbourg, but their romantic relationship ended in 1981. Even still, they stayed friends until Gainsbourg’s death in 1991.

Besides Charlotte, Birkin had two other daughters. She was married to John Barry from 1965-1968, and they had a daughter together named Kate Barry. She also has a daughter named Lou Doillon from her relationship with Jacques Dillon.

Watch the video below to learn more about Birkin’s life, relationships and career.

Rest in peace.