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