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 immediate

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