Nathalie Baye
Acting
Born: July 6, 1948 · Mainneville, Eure, France
Died: April 17, 2026 (aged 77)
Highest Rated
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.
Photos (7)
Movies (97)
Catch Me If You Can
Paula Abagnale
It's Only the End of the World
Martine
Downton Abbey: A New Era
Mme de Montmirail
Laurence Anyways
Julienne Alia
Alibi.com
Marlène Martin
Beau Pere
Charlotte
And the Band Played On
Dr. Françoise Barre
Alibi.com 2
Mme Martin
Detective
Françoise Chenal
Tell No One
Elysabeth Feldman
Haute Couture
Esther
Every Man for Himself
Denise Rimbaud
Day for Night
Joelle, the Script Girl
The Guardians
Hortense Sandrail
The Flower of Evil
Anne Charpin-Vasseur
The Price to Pay
Odile Ménard
The Return of Martin Guerre
Bertrande de Rols
Feelings
Carole
The Last Woman
la fille aux cerises
Lou!
Jeanne (La grand-mère)
C'est La Vie
Lena
La Californie
Maguy
The Man Who Loved Women
Martine Desdoits
The Honeymoon Trip
Sophie
Him
Mother
An Affair of Love
Her
Barnie's Minor Annoyances
Lucie
The Machine
Marie Lacroix
The Young Lieutenant
Commandant Vaudieu
The Assistant
Marie-France
Faustine and the Beautiful Summer
Giselle
Small World
Elisabeth Senn
Michou d'Auber
Gisèle
Beautiful Lies
Mady
SK1
Frédérique Pons
Monsieur Papa
Janine
Our Story
Donatienne Pouget / Marie-Thérèse Chatelard / Geneviève Avranche
Rive droite, rive gauche
Sacha Vernakis
Hitler in Hollywood
Nathalie Baye
Visage
Nathalie
The Voice
Lorraine
Queens of the Ring
Colette
Food of Love
Michele
The Green Room
Cecilia Mandel
My Son
Mother / La mère
Strange Affair
Nina Coline
La Balance
Nicole Danet
Médée
The mother
Moka
Marlène
Rat Race
Brigitte Ozendron
Venus Beauty Institute
Angèle Piana
My Best Part
Bernadette Meyer
Beethoven's Nephew
Leonore
The Slap
Christine Abeillé
Paparazzi
Nicole, de l'agence Magma
I've Been Waiting So Long
Jeanne
Bye Bye
Cécile
To Mathieu
Claire
Mother Valley
Hélène
A French Gigolo
Judith
The Mouth Agape
Nathalie
One Stays, the Other Leaves
Fanny
Marie-Octobre
Marie-Hélène Dumoulin / Marie-Octobre
La provinciale
Christine Delumet
Every Other Weekend
Camille Valmont
Les Enfoirés - Les Enfoirés en chœur de 1985 à aujourd'hui
2014
Absolutely Fabulous
Patricia 'Patsy' Laroche
Les Enfoirés 1996 - La Soirée des Enfoirés
1996
A Week's Vacation
Laurence Cuers
L'Inconnu
1973
I Married a Shadow
Hélène
Short Memory
Judith Mesnil
Fill 'er Up with Super
Charlotte
The Great Restaurant
Une cliente du restaurant
Off and Running
Irène Montier-Duval
Tomorrow's Another Day
Sophie
Solemn Communion
Jeanne Vanderberghe
Mado
Catherine
Enfants de salaud
Sophie
God's Offices
Anne
Massacre Play
Bella
The Red Shade
Anna
From Time to Time
Madame de Pompadour
France Boutique
Sofia
Together Is Too Much
Marie-France
Madame Sourdis
Adèle Sourdis
Honeymoon
Cécile Carline
No Harm Intended
Catherine Duchêne
Beware of My Love
Muriel
Un jour, la fête
Julie
The Man Inside
Christine
Mensonge
Emma
Préjudice
Mother
Engagements of the Heart
Alice
Les contes sauvages
Narrator (voice)
Mon Premier Amour
Fabienne
Thomas
Anne Lancrey
TV Shows (6)
Self / Appearances (37)
Bonsoir bonsoir!
Self · 1 eps
Spécial cinéma
Self · 3 eps
Sacrée soirée
Self · 1 eps
Champs-Elysées
Self · 6 eps
Vivement dimanche
Self · 6 eps
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Self · 3 eps
Le Grand Échiquier
Self · 1 eps
Victoires de la musique
Self · 1 eps
Call My Agent!
Self · 2 eps
Ciné regards
Self · 1 eps
On n'est pas couché
Self - Guest · 1 eps
Cérémonie des César
Self - Presenter · 1 eps
Cérémonie des César
Self - President · 1 eps
Téléthon
Self · 1 eps
Matin Bonheur
Self · 1 eps
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
Self (archive footage) · 1 eps
Godard Cinema
Self
A Day in the Life of French Cinema
Self
Godard by Godard
Self (archive footage)
Le soir où j'ai reçu le César 2022
Self
Jacques Villeret, drôlement tragique
Self
François Truffaut, une autobiographie
Self
François Truffaut: Stolen Portraits
Self
Nicole Garcia, actrice-cinéaste
Self
Xavier Dolan: Bound to Impossible
Self
Jean-Pierre Léaud: The Child of Cinema
Self - Actress
Bacri, comme un air de famille
Self
Sous le soleil de Pialat
Self
Sauve la vie (qui peut)
Self (archive footage)
François Truffaut: The Man Who Loved Cinema - Love & Death
Self
Sheila, toutes ces vies-là
Self (archive footage)
Bon vent Claude Goretta
Self
Voyage à travers un film (Sauve qui peut (la vie))
Self
Conversation avec Nathalie Baye
Self
François Truffaut: The Man Who Loved Cinema - The Wild Child
Self
Soirée Pyjama
Self - Guest
Scénario de 'Sauve qui peut la vie'
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)