Jane Birkin was born in London on December 14, 1946. In the first half of the 1960s, she immersed herself in the pop scene of Swinging London and made her acting debut at the age of 17. Around this time, she met composer John Barry, who encouraged her to pursue a singing career, and whom she married at 19. In Michelangelo Antonioni's film Blow-Up , she starred in her first controversial scene, causing a major scandal in her hometown.

After her marriage failed and the birth of her daughter Kate in 1967, Jane moved to France. There she met Serge Gainsbourg, with whom she formed one of the most fashionable couples on the Parisian scene, becoming famous in 1969 with "Je t'aime… moi non plus," a sensual and provocative song that became a worldwide hit.
Her fragile, delicate voice, always on the verge of breaking, was the distinctive mark that Serge Gainsbourg cleverly exploited, adapting his songs to Jane's unique timbre. Serge composed for her and molded her to his liking. They remained together for 12 years, becoming a popular couple with the public and the media.

In the early 1980s, their romantic relationship having ended, Gainsbourg continued to compose more solemn, complex, and subtle songs for her. His album *Baby Alone in Babylon* was a great success in 1983. In 1987, she gave her first concert at Le Bataclan. In 1998, she released her first album without Serge Gainsbourg, * À la légère *, featuring songs written by 12 contemporary French composers.

In 1999, Birkin met the musician Djamel Benyelles, who gave an oriental twist to some of Gainsbourg's songs, such as "Elisa," "Couleur Café," and "Comment te dire adieu." Among his later albums are Arabesque (2002), Rendez-vous (2004), and Fictions (2006).