In his home in San Lorenzo di Sedegliano he rewinds the tape of memories to reveal to us his special bond with Brigitte Bardot which has until now been kept in secrecy. The actress baptized him in Saint Tropez where he was born 64 years ago to Friulian emigrants who worked for the diva in her seaside villa for 15 years. The mother Anna as a housekeeper, the father Angelo as a gardener and caretaker. At the registry office, Egidio Dean has always been called Gilles, a name he owes to Bardot:
“She baptized me and chose the name Gilles, but when we came to Italy at the registry office they didn’t accept the name, we called her and said “wait a few days and I’ll sort things out” but she didn’t arrive and at the registry office they said they weren’t waiting, so they gave me the name Egidio Federico but everyone calls me Gilles, with the name chosen by Brigitte Bardot.”
Today Gilles lives in San Lorenzo di Sedegliano, the town from where his newlywed parents left for France after the war, called by Bardot’s mother.
“During the war my dad went to France and they took refuge in his mum’s villa and then after the war my dad from Italy tried to write and she said come here there’s work”
With discretion, dedication and respect, the Dean couple knew how to stay close to the actress without ever betraying her trust:
“All these journalists have never been able to see her or have any photos or know anything about her, my dad and my mum have never given any news about her, what she does where she is, always silent and she has always appreciated that thing.”
An authentic relationship, based on the simplicity that Bardot herself has always sought and loved. A long and profound relationship continued even after their return to San Lorenzo di Sedegliano in 1964, when Gilles was three years old, to start an agricultural activity and a stable in the family home where the diva came to visit a few times even when she was already an activist in defense of animals:
“She was a simple woman, every time she came to visit us she went to the stable to pet the cows”
After the 1976 Friuli earthquake, through the bishop of Udine, Monsignor Battisti, Bardot managed to track them down to offer them all three to return to Saint-Tropez, they refused. The last meeting was in 2000, when she arrived at the Gorizia border for an animal rights blitz. On that occasion he wanted to see Gilles again
“She asked me about my parents, I said they missed them, she was sorry because she couldn’t come to the funeral…..It was an emotion to see her again after so many years…I’m sorry that she’s no longer here because she was a kind woman, more than kind as I knew her…..”
Related News :