Nathalie Baye
Acting
- Born:
- 1948-07-06
- Died:
- 2026-04-17
- Place of birth:
- Mainneville, Eure, France
Biography
Nathalie Marie Andrée Baye (July 6, 1948 – April 17, 2026) was a French film, television, and stage actress. She began her career in 1970 and has appeared in more than 80 films. A ten-time César Award nominee, her four wins were for Every Man for Himself (1980), Strange Affair (1981), La Balance (1982), and The Young Lieutenant (2005). Her other films include Day for Night (1973), Catch Me If You Can (2002), Tell No One (2006), and The Assistant (2015). In 2009, she was appointed a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. Baye was born in Mainneville, Eure, Normandy to Claude Baye and Denise Coustet, two painters. At 14, she joined a school of dance in Monaco. Three years later she went to the United States. On returning to France, she continued with dance but also registered for the Simon Course and was admitted to the Conservatoire, from where she graduated in 1972 with a second prize in comedy, dramatic comedy, and foreign theatre. Her second cinema appearance was in Two People (1973), directed by Robert Wise. She became better known as the script girl in Day for Night (La Nuit américaine, 1973) by François Truffaut. Throughout the 1970s, she played the good girlfriend or nice provincial girl in film and television. She won her first César, as best supporting artist, for Every Man for Himself (Sauve qui peut (la vie), 1980) directed by Jean-Luc Godard. There then followed The Return of Martin Guerre (Le Retour de Martin Guerre, 1982) and La Balance (also 1982). Baye won two more César Awards, Best Supporting Actress, for Strange Affair (Une étrange affaire, 1981), and Best Actress for La Balance, 1982). Her four-year relationship with Johnny Hallyday made them a celebrity couple and their daughter is Laura Smet, now an actress. After changing her image by playing a streetwalker in La Balance, she widened her scope with more obscure characters in J'ai épousé une ombre (1983) and En toute innocence (1988). In 1986, she returned to the theatre with an interpretation of Adriana Monti. In 1999, she was voted Best Supporting Actress at Venice Film Festival for Une liaison pornographique and starred in Vénus Beauté (Institut) (2000) by Tonie Marshall which won multiple César Awards including Best Film. She has worked with Claude Chabrol and Steven Spielberg. Source: Article "Nathalie Baye" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
Known For
Filmography
Jacques Villeret, drôlement tragique
Jean-Pierre Léaud: The Child of Cinema
Mother Valley
Godard Cinema
Godard by Godard
Nicole Garcia, actrice-cinéaste
Alibi.com 2
Sheila, toutes ces vies-là
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
Downton Abbey: A New Era
Le soir où j'ai reçu le César 2022
Bacri, comme un air de famille
Haute Couture
Him
Sous le soleil de Pialat
Conversation avec Nathalie Baye
My Best Part
Criminal: France
Bonsoir bonsoir!
Soirée Pyjama
Thomas
Nox
The Guardians
Médée
Alibi.com
It's Only the End of the World
Xavier Dolan: Bound to Impossible
Moka
Call My Agent!
Préjudice
The Assistant
SK1
Les Enfoirés - Les Enfoirés en chœur de 1985 à aujourd'hui
Lou!
Queens of the Ring
Laurence Anyways
Spin
Bon vent Claude Goretta
Bye Bye
Hitler in Hollywood
Small World
Beautiful Lies
The Great Restaurant
Together Is Too Much
Visage
God's Offices
Marie-Octobre
A French Gigolo
Club social
Off and Running
The Price to Pay
Acteur
Michou d'Auber
Tell No One
On n'est pas couché
La Californie
My Son
The Young Lieutenant
One Stays, the Other Leaves
François Truffaut, une autobiographie
I've Been Waiting So Long
France Boutique
Feelings
The Flower of Evil
Catch Me If You Can
A Day in the Life of French Cinema
L’enfant des lumières
Absolutely Fabulous
Barnie's Minor Annoyances
To Mathieu
Tomorrow's Another Day
An Affair of Love
Venus Beauty Institute
Vivement dimanche
Beware of My Love
Paparazzi
Food of Love
Enfants de salaud
Les Enfoirés 1996 - La Soirée des Enfoirés
François Truffaut: The Man Who Loved Cinema - The Wild Child
François Truffaut: The Man Who Loved Cinema - Love & Death
The Machine
And the Band Played On
Mensonge
François Truffaut: Stolen Portraits
Les contes sauvages
The Voice
From Time to Time
The Man Inside
Every Other Weekend
C'est La Vie
Massacre Play
No Harm Intended
Engagements of the Heart
Téléthon
Sacrée soirée
Matin Bonheur
Victoires de la musique
Honeymoon
Beethoven's Nephew
Detective
Rive droite, rive gauche
Our Story
I Married a Shadow
La Balance
The Return of Martin Guerre
Short Memory
Champs-Elysées
Strange Affair
The Red Shade
Beau Pere
Voyage à travers un film (Sauve qui peut (la vie))
Sauve la vie (qui peut)
La provinciale
Every Man for Himself
A Week's Vacation
Rat Race
Madame Sourdis
Scénario de 'Sauve qui peut la vie'
Mon Premier Amour
The Green Room
Ciné regards
Monsieur Papa
The Man Who Loved Women
Solemn Communion
Mado
The Honeymoon Trip
The Last Woman
Fill 'er Up with Super
Cérémonie des César
Esquisse d'une jeune femme sens dessus dessous
Cinéma 16
Un jour, la fête
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
The Slap
Spécial cinéma
The Mouth Agape
L'Inconnu
Day for Night
Faustine and the Beautiful Summer
Le Grand Échiquier
Les Cinq Dernières Minutes