Nathalie Baye

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.

Nathalie Baye studied at École alsacienne, Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique and Conservatoire de Paris. The recorded working language is French and English. Residence is recorded at Paris. Distinctions recorded are Knight of the Legion of Honour, César Award for Best Supporting Actress, César Award for Best Actress and Officer of the Legion of Honour.

• Name — Nathalie Baye • Birth Name — Nathalie Marie Andrée Baye • Born — 6 July 1948 • Birthplace — Mainneville, France • Died — 17 April 2026 • Place of death — Paris, France • Occupation — Actress • Years Active — 1970–2023 • Partner — Philippe Léotard (1972–1982) Johnny Hallyday (1982–1986) • Children — Laura Smet

Baye was born in Mainneville, Eure, Normandy, on 6 July 1948, 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.

• Illustration — Baye at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival Baye's second film 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 worked with François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol and Steven Spielberg.

Baye died from complications of Lewy body dementia in Paris, on 17 April 2026, at the age of 77.

• Year — Title — Role — Director — Notes • 1970 — Au théâtre ce soir — Martine Legrand — Pierre Sabbagh — Episode Les Croulants se portent bien • 1972 — Two People — uncredited — Robert Wise • 1973 — L'Inconnu — Youri — TV film • 1973 — Day for Night — Joelle — François Truffaut • 1974 — The Mouth Agape — Nathalie — Maurice Pialat • 1974 — La Gifle — Christine — Claude Pinoteau • 1975 — Un jour, la fête — Julie — Pierre Sisser • 1975 — Cinéma 16 — Fabienne — Alain Boudet — Episode Esquisse d'une jeune femme sans dessus-dessous • 1976 — The Last Woman — The girl with cherries — Marco Ferreri • 1976 — Le Plein de super — Charlotte — Alain Cavalier • 1976 — Le Voyage de noces — Sophie — Nadine Trintignant • 1976 — Mado — Catherine — Claude Sautet • 1977 — The Man Who Loved Women — Martine Desdoits — François Truffaut • 1977 — Monsieur Papa — Janine — Philippe Monnier • 1977 — Solemn Communion — Jeanne Vanderberghe — René Féret • 1977 — Les Cinq Dernières Minutes — Gisèle — Guy Séligmann — Episode Une si jolie petite cure • 1978 — Mon premier amour — Fabienne — Élie Chouraqui • 1978 — The Green Room — Cécilia Mandel — François Truffaut • 1978 — Sacré farceur — Marianne — Jacques Rouland — TV film • 1979 — Every Man for Himself — Denise Rimbaud — Jean-Luc Godard • 1979 — La Mémoire courte — Judith Mesnil — Eduardo de Gregorio • 1979 — Madame Sourdis — Adèle Sourdis — Caroline Huppert — TV film • 1980 — Je vais craquer — Brigitte Ozendron — François Leterrier • 1980 — A Week's Vacation — Laurence Cuers — Bertrand Tavernier • 1980 — La Provinciale — Christine — Claude Goretta • 1981 — Strange Affair — Nina Coline — Pierre Granier-Deferre • 1981 — Beau-père — Charlotte — Bertrand Blier • 1981 — L'Ombre rouge — Anna — Jean-Louis Comolli • 1982 — The Return of Martin Guerre — Bertrande de Rols — Daniel Vigne • 1982 — La Balance — Nicole Danet — Bob Swaim • 1983 — J'ai épousé une ombre — Hélène — Robin Davis • 1984 — Our Story — Donatienne Pouget / Marie-Thérèse Chatelard / Geneviève Avranches — Bertrand Blier • 1984 — Rive droite, rive gauche — Sacha — Philippe Labro • 1985 — Détective — Françoise Chenal — Jean-Luc Godard • 1985 — Honeymoon — Cécile Carline — Patrick Jamain • 1985 — Beethoven's Nephew — Leonore — Paul Morrissey • 1987 — De guerre lasse — Alice Mangin — Robert Enrico • 1987 — En toute innocence — Catherine — Alain Jessua • 1989 — Massacre Play — Bella — Damiano Damiani • 1990 — The Man Inside — Christine — Bobby Roth • 1990 — C'est la vie — Lena — Diane Kurys • 1990 — Every Other Weekend — Camille Valmont — Nicole Garcia • 1990 — Le Pinceau à lèvres — Elle — Bruno Chiche — Short film • 1992 — The Voice — Lorraine — Pierre Granier-Deferre • 1992 — The Timekeeper — Madame de Pompadour — Jeff Blyth • 1993 — Mensonge — Emma — François Margolin • 1993 — Les Contes sauvages — Narrator — Gérald Calderon Jean-Charles Cuttoli — Uncredited • 1993 — And the Band Played On — Françoise Barré-Sinoussi — Roger Spottiswoode — TV film • 1994 — The Machine — Marie Lacroix — François Dupeyron • 1994 — François Truffaut: Portraits volés — Herself — Serge Toubiana Michel Pascal — Documentary • 1995 — La Mère — The mother — Caroline Bottaro — Short film • 1996 — Enfants de salaud — Sophie — Tonie Marshall • 1997 — Food of Love — Michele — Stephen Poliakoff • 1997 — Paparazzi — Nicole — Alain Berberian • 1998 — Si je t'aime, prends garde à toi — Muriel — Jeanne Labrune • 1999 — Venus Beauty Institute — Angèle — Tonie Marshall • 1999 — Une liaison pornographique — she — Frédéric Fonteyne • 2000 — To Matthieu — Claire — Xavier Beauvois • 2000 — Ça ira mieux demain — Sophie — Jeanne Labrune • 2001 — Absolutely Fabulous — Patsy — Gabriel Aghion • 2001 — Barnie et ses petites contrariétés — Lucie Barnich — Bruno Chiche • 2002 — L'Enfant des lumières — Diane — Daniel Vigne — TV film • 2002 — Catch Me If You Can — Paula Abagnale — Steven Spielberg • 2002 — The Flower of Evil — Anne Charpin-Vasseur — Claude Chabrol • 2003 — Feelings — Carole — Noémie Lvovsky • 2003 — France Boutique — Sofia — Tonie Marshall • 2004 — Une vie à t'attendre — Jeanne — Thierry Klifa • 2005 — L'Un reste, l'autre part — Fanny — Claude Berri • 2005 — The Young Lieutenant — Caroline Vaudieu — Xavier Beauvois • 2006 — French California — Maguy — Jacques Fieschi • 2006 — Tell No One — Elisabeth Feldman — Guillaume Canet • 2006 — The Ant Bully — The Queen Ant — John A. Davis — French voice • 2006 — Mon fils à moi — The mother — Martial Fougeron • 2007 — Michou d'Auber — Gisèle — Thomas Gilou • 2007 — Acteur — Camille Degas — Jocelyn Quivrin — Short film • 2007 — The Price to Pay — Odile Ménard — Alexandra Leclère • 2008 — A French Gigolo — Judith — Josiane Balasko • 2008 — Passe-passe — Irène Montier-Duval — Tonie Marshall • 2008 — Les Bureaux de Dieu — Anne — Claire Simon • 2008 — Marie-Octobre — Marie-Hélène Dumoulin / Marie-Octobre — Josée Dayan — TV film • 2009 — Face — Nathalie — Tsai Ming-liang • 2010 — Ensemble, c'est trop — Marie-France — Léa Fazer • 2010 — H.H. – Hitler à Hollywood — Herself — Frédéric Sojcher • 2010 — De vrais mensonges — Maddy — Pierre Salvadori • 2010 — Small World — Elisabeth Senn — Bruno Chiche • 2011 — Bye Bye — Cécile — Édouard Deluc — Short film • 2011 — Dormir debout — Véronique — Jean-Luc Perréard — Short film • 2011 — Je voulais vous dire — Romain Delange — Short film • 2011 — Le Premier Rôle — Nathalie — Mathieu Hippeau — Short film • 2011 — À l'abri — The woman — Jérémie Lippmann — Short film • 2012 — Spin — Anne Visage — Frédéric Tellier — TV series • 2012 — Laurence Anyways — Julienne Alia — Xavier Dolan • 2013 — Queens of the Ring — Colette — Jean-Marc Rudnicki • 2014 — Lou! Journal infime — Lou's grandmother — Julien Neel • 2014 — L'Affaire SK1 — Frédérique Pons — Frédéric Tellier • 2015 — The Assistant — Marie-France — Christophe Ali Nicolas Bonilauri • 2015 — Prejudice — Mother — Antoine Cuypers • 2015 — Call My Agent! — Herself — Cédric Klapisch — TV series (2 Episodes) • 2016 — It's Only the End of the World — Martine — Xavier Dolan • 2016 — Moka — Marlène — Frédéric Mermoud • 2017 — Alibi.com — Madame Martin — Philippe Lacheau • 2017 — Les Gardiennes — Hortense Sandrail — Xavier Beauvois • 2018 — Nox — Catherine Susini — Mabrouk El Mechri — TV series (6 episodes) • 2019 — Criminal: France — Caroline Solal — Frédéric Mermoud — TV series (1 episode) • 2020 — My Best Part (Garçon chiffon) — Bernadette Meyer — Nicolas Maury • 2022 — Downton Abbey: A New Era — The dowager Marchioness of Montmirail — Simon Curtis

Nathalie Baye is recorded as having received Knight of the Legion of Honour, César Award for Best Supporting Actress and César Award for Best Actress.