Acting
Nathalie Baye
FR, EN cinema · 120 credits
Born
6 July 1948
Died
17 April 2026 (aged 77)
Birthplace
Mainneville, Eure, France
Also known as Natalie Baye · Nathalie Marie Andrée Baye
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
Jean-Pierre Léaud: The Child of Cinema
as Self - Actress
Mother Valley
as Hélène
Alibi.com 2
as Mme Martin
Godard by Godard
as Self (archive footage)
Godard Cinema
as Self
Sheila, toutes ces vies-là
as Self (archive footage)
Downton Abbey: A New Era
as Mme de Montmirail
Haute Couture
as Esther
Him
as Mother
My Best Part
as Bernadette Meyer
Soirée Pyjama
as Self - Guest
Thomas
as Anne Lancrey
Alibi.com
as Marlène Martin
The Guardians
as Hortense Sandrail
Médée
as The mother
Moka
as Marlène
SK1
as Frédérique Pons
The Assistant
as Marie-France
Préjudice
as Mother
Lou!
as Jeanne (La grand-mère)
Queens of the Ring
as Colette
Laurence Anyways
as Julienne Alia
Hitler in Hollywood
as Nathalie Baye
Bye Bye
as Cécile
Beautiful Lies
as Mady
Together Is Too Much
as Marie-France
Small World
as Elisabeth Senn
The Great Restaurant
as Une cliente du restaurant
Visage
as Nathalie
A French Gigolo
as Judith
Off and Running
as Irène Montier-Duval
Marie-Octobre
as Marie-Hélène Dumoulin / Marie-Octobre
God's Offices
as Anne
The Price to Pay
as Odile Ménard
Michou d'Auber
as Gisèle
Acteur
2007
Acteur
as Camille
My Son
as Mother / La mère
La Californie
as Maguy
Tell No One
as Elysabeth Feldman
The Young Lieutenant
as Commandant Vaudieu
The Flower of Evil
as Anne Charpin-Vasseur
France Boutique
as Sofia
Feelings
as Carole
Catch Me If You Can
as Paula Abagnale
Absolutely Fabulous
as Patricia 'Patsy' Laroche
To Mathieu
as Claire
Tomorrow's Another Day
as Sophie
Venus Beauty Institute
as Angèle Piana
Paparazzi
as Nicole, de l'agence Magma
Beware of My Love
as Muriel
Food of Love
as Michele
Enfants de salaud
as Sophie
The Machine
as Marie Lacroix
And the Band Played On
as Dr. Françoise Barre
Mensonge
as Emma
Les contes sauvages
as Narrator (voice)
The Voice
as Lorraine
From Time to Time
as Madame de Pompadour
C'est La Vie
as Lena
Every Other Weekend
as Camille Valmont
The Man Inside
as Christine
Massacre Play
as Bella
No Harm Intended
as Catherine Duchêne
Detective
as Françoise Chenal
Honeymoon
as Cécile Carline
Beethoven's Nephew
as Leonore
Our Story
as Donatienne Pouget / Marie-Thérèse Chatelard / Geneviève Avranche
Rive droite, rive gauche
as Sacha Vernakis
I Married a Shadow
as Hélène
The Return of Martin Guerre
as Bertrande de Rols
La Balance
as Nicole Danet
Short Memory
as Judith Mesnil
Strange Affair
as Nina Coline
Beau Pere
as Charlotte
The Red Shade
as Anna
La provinciale
as Christine Delumet
Sauve la vie (qui peut)
as Self (archive footage)
A Week's Vacation
as Laurence Cuers
Rat Race
as Brigitte Ozendron
Every Man for Himself
as Denise Rimbaud
Scénario de 'Sauve qui peut la vie'
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Madame Sourdis
as Adèle Sourdis
The Green Room
as Cecilia Mandel
Mon Premier Amour
as Fabienne
The Man Who Loved Women
as Martine Desdoits
Solemn Communion
as Jeanne Vanderberghe
Monsieur Papa
as Janine
The Last Woman
as la fille aux cerises
Fill 'er Up with Super
as Charlotte
The Honeymoon Trip
as Sophie
Mado
as Catherine
Un jour, la fête
as Julie
Esquisse d'une jeune femme sens dessus dessous
as Fabienne Veyrier, the young woman
The Mouth Agape
as Nathalie
The Slap
as Christine Abeillé
Day for Night
as Joelle, the Script Girl
