Roger Vadim (born Roger Vladimir Plemiannikov) (January 26, 1928 - February 11, 2000), was a journalist, author, actor, screenwriter, director, and producer who launched Brigitte Bardot's career in the film And God Created Woman. The scene of Bardot dancing barefoot on a table remains one of the most erotic scenes in French cinema. Born in Paris, France, his White Russian father, Igor Plemiannikov, immigrated from Ukraine, became a naturalized French citizen, and was a vice consul of France to Egypt.
Vadim became a stage actor at the age of 16. In 1947 he became assistant writer to film director Marc Allégret.
As well as his movie achievements, Roger Vadim was celebrated for his romances/marriages to such beautiful women as actresses Brigitte Bardot and Jane Fonda. He also lived with Catherine Deneuve, with whom he had a child, prior to his marriage to Fonda. In addition to his theater and movie work, he wrote several books including his autobiography, D'Une Etoile a l'Autre (From One Star to the Next).
Vadim died at age 72 of lymphoma and is buried in the St. Tropez Cemetery, Saint Tropez, France. He was survived by his wife, French actress Marie-Christine Barrault, and four children: Vanessa, born to Fonda; Christian with Deneuve; Nathalie, born to actress Annette Stroyberg; and Vania, his child with heiress Catherine Schneider.
