Brigitte Lahaie started in the adult film industry in 1976, just a year after the legalization of hardcore pornography in France. Jean Rollin, who directed her in a porn film, wanted to give her an opportunity to work in mainstream films.

He offered her a part in Les Raisins de la Mort, the first gore film produced in France, with Marie-Georges Pascal in the leading role. The director appreciated Lahaie’s performance and made her the protagonist of his next film, Fascination, in 1979.

In 1980, at the height of her popularity, she decided to put an end to her hardcore career and appear in more traditional films, such as I as in Icarus (1980, with Yves Montand) in which she played a stripper, and Pour la peau d’un flic (1981, with Alain Delon) in which she played a nurse.

However, she also made some softcore and Nazi exploitation “video nasties” during this time. Later, Lahaie acted in several other mainstream films, including Henry & June (1990) and Calvaire (2004). At the end of her acting career, she became famous to the more general public after appearing on a French radio show.