Enfants D'Hiver

Jane Birkin is of course best known in the UK for her 1969 duet with Serge Gainsbourg, 'Je T'Aime (Moi Non Plus)', where she panted her way to the top of the charts, however she has appeared in over 50 films, including Antonioni's Scandalous film Blow Up, been a star of numerous theatre productions and recorded more than a dozen albums. In france she is a cultural icon, a libertarian parisienne, friends of royalty and mother to Katre Barry (with John Barry) Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon. In 1992, birkin gave up singing, saying she could not imagine working with anyone other than gainsbourg who had passed away the year before. Instead she focused on her family and her humanitarian work. She returned to music in 1998 and has since recorded a number of albums including Arabesque (interpretations of Serges' songs), Rendez-Vous (an album of duets with artist including Feist, Bryan Ferry and Beth Gibbons) and Fictions (songs written by artists including Magic Numbers, Neil Young, Rufus Wainwright and more). Birkin has regularly toured worldwide since embracing music again but has continued acting in a number of films, still fighting against being 'typecast' for her accent and looks and even returning to the stage at the royal theatre in Northampton, in 2005, playing the role of gertrude in hamlet.

Birkin returned in November 2008, with a new album, sung in french: Enfants D'Hiver. The album has similar chilled out, ethereal sound to Fictions although 'Aung San Suu Kyii' gives it a particular edge with Jane singing about the rightful burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi who has been imprisoned or under house arrest for 12 of the past 18 years. The singer has been vociferous in her support of Aung San Suu Kyi, imprisoned for her defiance of the military regime in burma. Jane invites visitors to her website to sign a petition demanding the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and her fellow activists. Jane Birkin has maintained her political commitments throughout her career while her humanitarian interests led her to work with amnesty international, on immigrant welfare and aids issues. birkin has also visited bosnia, rwanda and palestinian territories, often working with children. sShe was awarded an obe, in 2001, and has also been awarded the french ordre national du merite.