
Nathalie 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.
140 acting credits
Acting · 140

Champs-Elysées
1982

Sacrée soirée
1987

Vivement dimanche
1998

Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
1975

Catch Me If You Can
2002

Spécial cinéma
1974

Le Grand Échiquier
1972

Beau Pere
1981

Call My Agent!
2015

Victoires de la musique
1985

Bonsoir bonsoir!
2019

Les Cinq Dernières Minutes
1958

Cérémonie des César
1976

Téléthon
1987

Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
2022

Alibi.com 2
2023

On n'est pas couché
2006

Downton Abbey: A New Era
2022
Club social
2008
Matin Bonheur
1987

Tell No One
2006

Nox
2018

Alibi.com
2017

And the Band Played On
1993

Criminal: France
2019

An Affair of Love
1999

Spin
2012

It's Only the End of the World
2016

Day for Night
1973

The Return of Martin Guerre
1982

Laurence Anyways
2012

The Last Woman
1976

C'est La Vie
1990

The Slap
1974

The Green Room
1978

Venus Beauty Institute
1999

Cinéma 16
1975

The Flower of Evil
2003

My Son
2006

Him
2021

Mado
1976

Paparazzi
1998

The Man Who Loved Women
1977

The Guardians
2017

Michou d'Auber
2007

Haute Couture
2021

Moka
2016

Every Man for Himself
1980

Visage
2009

A Week's Vacation
1980

Feelings
2003

Absolutely Fabulous
2001

Beautiful Lies
2010

Together Is Too Much
2010

Small World
2010

A Day in the Life of French Cinema
2002

I've Been Waiting So Long
2004

Xavier Dolan: Bound to Impossible
2016

Fill 'er Up with Super
1976

Rive droite, rive gauche
1984

Faustine and the Beautiful Summer
1972

The Honeymoon Trip
1976

Detective
1985

Enfants de salaud
1996

Jean-Pierre Léaud: The Child of Cinema
2024

La Balance
1982

The Mouth Agape
1974

France Boutique
2003

The Price to Pay
2007

SK1
2015

The Great Restaurant
2010

The Machine
1994

The Assistant
2015

Our Story
1984

Queens of the Ring
2013

A French Gigolo
2008

Préjudice
2015

Sheila, toutes ces vies-là
2022

I Married a Shadow
1983

From Time to Time
1992

Godard Cinema
2023

One Stays, the Other Leaves
2005

Massacre Play
1989

Les Enfoirés - Les Enfoirés en chœur de 1985 à aujourd'hui
2014

Tomorrow's Another Day
2000

My Best Part
2020

Off and Running
2008

Lou!
2014

God's Offices
2008

The Red Shade
1981

The Young Lieutenant
2005

Strange Affair
1981

Rat Race
1980

François Truffaut: Stolen Portraits
1993

Scénario de 'Sauve qui peut la vie'
1979

Monsieur Papa
1977

Les Enfoirés 1996 - La Soirée des Enfoirés
1996

Mother Valley
2023

Honeymoon
1985

Barnie's Minor Annoyances
2001

Bacri, comme un air de famille
2022

Godard by Godard
2023

Beware of My Love
1998

Food of Love
1997

Hitler in Hollywood
2011

La Californie
2006

Engagements of the Heart
1987

The Man Inside
1990

Nicole Garcia, actrice-cinéaste
2023

No Harm Intended
1988

François Truffaut, une autobiographie
2004

La provinciale
1981

The Voice
1992

Solemn Communion
1977

François Truffaut: The Man Who Loved Cinema - Love & Death
1996

Jacques Villeret, drôlement tragique
2025

L’enfant des lumières
2002

Sous le soleil de Pialat
2021

To Mathieu
2001

Mon Premier Amour
1978

Le soir où j'ai reçu le César 2022
2022

Beethoven's Nephew
1985

Marie-Octobre
2008

Conversation avec Nathalie Baye
2021

Soirée Pyjama
2019

Voyage à travers un film (Sauve qui peut (la vie))
1981

Madame Sourdis
1979

Every Other Weekend
1990

Short Memory
1982

Bon vent Claude Goretta
2011

Mensonge
1993

François Truffaut: The Man Who Loved Cinema - The Wild Child
1996
Esquisse d'une jeune femme sens dessus dessous
1975

Médée
2017

L'Inconnu
1973

Les contes sauvages
1993
Acteur
2007

Un jour, la fête
1975

Sauve la vie (qui peut)
1981

Thomas
2018