Nathalie Baye
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- July 6, 1948
- Died
- April 17, 2026
- Birthplace
- Mainneville, Eure, France
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.
Filmography
Jacques Villeret, drôlement tragique 2025
as Self
Jean-Pierre Léaud: The Child of Cinema 2024
as Self - Actress
Mother Valley 2023
as Hélène
Godard Cinema 2023
as Self
Godard by Godard 2023
as Self (archive footage)
Nicole Garcia, actrice-cinéaste 2023
as Self
Alibi.com 2 2023
as Mme Martin
Sheila, toutes ces vies-là 2022
as Self (archive footage)
Downton Abbey: A New Era 2022
as Mme de Montmirail
Le soir où j'ai reçu le César 2022 2022
as Self
Bacri, comme un air de famille 2022
as Self
Haute Couture 2021
as Esther
Him 2021
as Mother
Sous le soleil de Pialat 2021
as Self
Conversation avec Nathalie Baye 2021
as Self
My Best Part 2020
as Bernadette Meyer
Soirée Pyjama 2019
as Self - Guest
Thomas 2018
as Anne Lancrey
The Guardians 2017
as Hortense Sandrail
Médée 2017
as The mother
Alibi.com 2017
as Marlène Martin
It's Only the End of the World 2016
as Martine
Xavier Dolan: Bound to Impossible 2016
as Self
Moka 2016
as Marlène
Préjudice 2015
as Mother
The Assistant 2015
as Marie-France
SK1 2015
as Frédérique Pons
Les Enfoirés - Les Enfoirés en chœur de 1985 à aujourd'hui 2014
Actor
Lou! 2014
as Jeanne (La grand-mère)
Queens of the Ring 2013
as Colette
Laurence Anyways 2012
as Julienne Alia
Bon vent Claude Goretta 2011
as Self
Bye Bye 2011
as Cécile
Hitler in Hollywood 2011
as Nathalie Baye
Small World 2010
as Elisabeth Senn
Beautiful Lies 2010
as Mady
The Great Restaurant 2010
as Une cliente du restaurant
Together Is Too Much 2010
as Marie-France
Visage 2009
as Nathalie
God's Offices 2008
as Anne
Marie-Octobre 2008
as Marie-Hélène Dumoulin / Marie-Octobre
A French Gigolo 2008
as Judith
Off and Running 2008
as Irène Montier-Duval
The Price to Pay 2007
as Odile Ménard
- Acteur
Acteur 2007
as Camille
Michou d'Auber 2007
as Gisèle
Tell No One 2006
as Elysabeth Feldman
La Californie 2006
as Maguy
My Son 2006
as Mother / La mère
The Young Lieutenant 2005
as Commandant Vaudieu
One Stays, the Other Leaves 2005
as Fanny
François Truffaut, une autobiographie 2004
as Self
I've Been Waiting So Long 2004
as Jeanne
France Boutique 2003
as Sofia
Feelings 2003
as Carole
The Flower of Evil 2003
as Anne Charpin-Vasseur
Catch Me If You Can 2002
as Paula Abagnale
A Day in the Life of French Cinema 2002
as Self
Absolutely Fabulous 2001
as Patricia 'Patsy' Laroche
Barnie's Minor Annoyances 2001
as Lucie
To Mathieu 2001
as Claire
Tomorrow's Another Day 2000
as Sophie
An Affair of Love 1999
as Her
Venus Beauty Institute 1999
as Angèle Piana
Beware of My Love 1998
as Muriel
Paparazzi 1998
as Nicole, de l'agence Magma
Food of Love 1997
as Michele
Enfants de salaud 1996
as Sophie
Les Enfoirés 1996 - La Soirée des Enfoirés 1996
Actor
François Truffaut: The Man Who Loved Cinema - Love & Death 1996
as Self
François Truffaut: The Man Who Loved Cinema - The Wild Child 1996
as Self
The Machine 1994
as Marie Lacroix
And the Band Played On 1993
as Dr. Françoise Barre
Mensonge 1993
as Emma
François Truffaut: Stolen Portraits 1993
as Self
Les contes sauvages 1993
as Narrator (voice)
The Voice 1992
as Lorraine
From Time to Time 1992
as Madame de Pompadour
The Man Inside 1990
as Christine
Every Other Weekend 1990
as Camille Valmont
C'est La Vie 1990
as Lena
Massacre Play 1989
as Bella
No Harm Intended 1988
as Catherine Duchêne
Engagements of the Heart 1987
as Alice
Honeymoon 1985
as Cécile Carline
Beethoven's Nephew 1985
as Leonore
Detective 1985
as Françoise Chenal
Rive droite, rive gauche 1984
as Sacha Vernakis
Our Story 1984
as Donatienne Pouget / Marie-Thérèse Chatelard / Geneviève Avranche
I Married a Shadow 1983
as Hélène
La Balance 1982
as Nicole Danet
The Return of Martin Guerre 1982
as Bertrande de Rols
Short Memory 1982
as Judith Mesnil
Strange Affair 1981
as Nina Coline
The Red Shade 1981
as Anna
Beau Pere 1981
as Charlotte
Voyage à travers un film (Sauve qui peut (la vie)) 1981
as Self
Sauve la vie (qui peut) 1981
as Self (archive footage)
La provinciale 1981
as Christine Delumet
Every Man for Himself 1980
as Denise Rimbaud
A Week's Vacation 1980
as Laurence Cuers
Rat Race 1980
as Brigitte Ozendron
Madame Sourdis 1979
as Adèle Sourdis
Scénario de 'Sauve qui peut la vie' 1979
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Mon Premier Amour 1978
as Fabienne
The Green Room 1978
as Cecilia Mandel
Monsieur Papa 1977
as Janine
Solemn Communion 1977
as Jeanne Vanderberghe
The Man Who Loved Women 1977
as Martine Desdoits
Mado 1976
as Catherine
The Honeymoon Trip 1976
as Sophie
The Last Woman 1976
as la fille aux cerises
Fill 'er Up with Super 1976
as Charlotte
Esquisse d'une jeune femme sens dessus dessous 1975
as Fabienne Veyrier, the young woman
Un jour, la fête 1975
as Julie
The Slap 1974
as Christine Abeillé
The Mouth Agape 1974
as Nathalie
L'Inconnu 1973
Actor
Day for Night 1973
as Joelle, the Script Girl
Faustine and the Beautiful Summer 1972
as Giselle
Credits from TMDB.