British photographer daughter of actress Jane Birkin and Bond film composer John Barry found dead on pavement beneath her Paris apartment
- Kate Barry, 46, was a photographer published in Vogue and Sunday Times
- Her artistic family included Serge Gainsbourg and his daughter Charlotte
- Police investigating after anti-depressants were said to have been found
- French culture minister offers 'heartfelt thoughts to a family we all love'
British photographer Kate Barry has been found dead on the pavement beneath her fourth-floor flat in Paris.
The 46-year-old was the daughter of actress and singer Jane Birkin and the late James Bond composer John Barry.
Ms Barry's body was found soon after 6.30pm on Wednesday in the 16th arrondissement of the French capital.
Tragedy: Photographer Kate Barry (left) has died after apparently falling 80ft from her apartment (right) in Paris
Loving: The family united in October to sign a book about Jane Birkin, left, and her lover Serge Gainsbourg. Pictured: Jane, her daughters Kate Barry and Charlotte Gainsbourg (right) and brother Andrew Birkin
Sad: Actress Jane Birkin (left) lives just a few miles from the flat where her daughter Kate Barry (right) died
Shock: Ms Barry (pictured with her mother Jane Birkin and half-sister Charlotte Gainsboroug) was found soon after 6.30pm on Wednesday in the 16th arrondissement of the French capital
Sources say she fell 80ft from a window of her apartment, where anti-depressants were found inside.
It is just a few miles from the flat where Ms Birkin herself now lives on Paris's Left Bank.
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Ms Barry was thought to be alone inside the flat before the tragedy happened, and anti-depressants were said to have been found by police.
'The matter is under investigation, but we can confirm the death,' said a local police spokesman. He said the front door of the floor was found locked.
France's culture minister paid a moving tribute to Ms Barry today, offering 'heartfelt and loving thoughts' to 'a family we all love, the French love'.
Icon: Jane Birkin exploded into the London of the Swinging Sixties, having her daughter Kate (pictured as a toddler) with the Bond films' composer John Barry in 1967. Their marriage was short-lived and ended in 1968
Ms Barry (front right) aged eight with her mother Jane Birkin and the French singer Serge Gainsbourg (right), who raised her as his own. Front left is Ms Barry's stepsister Charlotte Gainsbourg, an actress and singer
Intimate: Ms Barry was brought up until the age of 13 by Ms Birkin and Mr Gainsbourg, who died in 1991
Fun: An intimate family portrait of (l to r) Jane Birkin, Kate Barry, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Serge Gainsbourg
Relaxing: Ms Barry was brought up by Ms Birkin and Mr Gainsborough after her parents separated in 1967, the year she was born
Sorely missed: France's culture minister paid a moving tribute to Ms Barry today, offering 'heartfelt and loving thoughts' to 'a family we all love, the French love'
Aurelie Filippetti said Ms Barry had become 'an outstanding photographer who understood the very meaning of pictures, staging, light and composition'.
Ms Barry is also survived by a son, Roman de Kermadec, who is 26. Her half-sister was actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, the daughter of Ms Birkin and the late French singer Serge Gainsbourg.
Ms Birkin, who also has a daughter called Lou Doillon with the director Jacques Doillon, has frequently spoken about her closeness to her daughters.
Talent: Jane Birkin said her daughter 'had a Polaroid camera in her hand from a young age and photographed her sisters all the time'
Happy times: Ms Barry's first major photographic exhibition was at the Bunkamura Gallery in Tokyo in 2000
Creative: Ms Barry went on to produce pictures for a variety of publications including British Vogue and the Sunday Times magazine
Troubled: Later in life, Ms Barry had a close relationship with groups including Alcoholics Anonymous
Pictured at five months, Kate Barry was Jane Birkin's first daughter and she spoke to all three at least weekly
Close bond: The photographer as a child with her mother and stepsister Charlotte Gainsbourg
Tribute: French culture minister Aurelie Filippetti said Ms Barry had become 'an outstanding photographer who understood the very meaning of pictures, staging, light and composition'
French singer Serge Gainsborough with Ms Barry and her half-sister, the actress Charlotte Gainsborough
Bohemian: Gainsbourg was Jane Birkin's most famous love (pictured together), and together they sang Je t'aime... moi non plus, a song so seductive and sexually explicit that it was banned on French radio
CHILD OF A STAR FAMILY
Kate Barry came from a family in the public eye.
Her mother Jane Birkin, who starred in Death on the Nile, became a sex symbol for her 13-year love affair with the French singer Serge Gainsbourg.
The pair never married but Gainsbourg raised Ms Barry like a father.
Their daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg has released four albums and is a French film star.
Meanwhile Ms Barry's father John Barry wrote all the most famous music of James Bond, including the opening theme and the hit songs for Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever, both sung by Shirley Bassey.
Earlier this year, she said: 'I've never had a week without having all three of my daughters on the telephone.
'My eldest daughter, Kate, looks most like me. She's a photographer. She had a Polaroid camera in her hand from a young age and photographed her sisters all the time.'
Ms Barry's parents separated in 1967, the year she was born in London, and she was brought up until the age of 13 by Ms Birkin and Gainsbourg, who died in 1991.
At 17, she underwent treatment for drug and alcohol addiction in central London.
She had a close relationship with groups including Alcoholics Anonymous and set up a centre for addicts in France in 1993.
Ms Barry began her career as a professional photographer in 1996 and her first major exhibition was at the Bunkamura Gallery in Tokyo in 2000.
She went on to produce pictures for a variety of publications including British Vogue and the Sunday Times magazine.
For confidential support contact Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 or click here.
Eye for a great picture: Ms Barry began her career as a professional photographer in 1996
Ms Barry came from a family never far from the public eye. Her father John (left) wrote the music for Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice and the iconic Bond theme, while her stepsister Charlotte Gainsbourg (right) is an actress
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