Most of the women on this list either started their career or experienced their peak years during the 1970s. For French blonde bombshell Brigitte Bardot, the opposite is true. Her acting career began in the late 1950s, ran through the 60s and would have continued through the 70s if she'd so desired, but instead, she spontaneously retired from acting, and never went back to it.
Bardot is a fiercely proud French woman, and the overwhelming majority of her performances were in French language films, but her looks and screen presence were such that directors eventually persuaded her to appear in Hollywood. Her best-known roles included 'Helen of Troy' and 'Act of Love,' along with 'Two Weeks in September.' As she approached her 40s, she decided to leave the acting profession before she was pushed and made her final movie in 1973.