Nathalie Baye
Photoplayd Industry Rating
Not enough rated films yet to compute a weighted score.
Roles are weighted by involvement: director 1.0, screenwriter 0.7, lead 0.8, supporting 0.4, crew 0.1.
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.
Known for
Credits
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
as Paula Abagnale
Beau Pere (1981)
as Charlotte
Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022)
as Mme de Montmirail
La Californie (2006)
as Maguy
Feelings (2003)
as Carole
Moka (2016)
as Marlène
François Truffaut: Stolen Portraits (1993)
as Self
Tell No One (2006)
as Elysabeth Feldman
Hitler in Hollywood (2011)
as Nathalie Baye
Day for Night (1973)
as Joelle, the Script Girl
Alibi.com (2017)
as Marlène Martin
Detective (1985)
as Françoise Chenal
It's Only the End of the World (2016)
as Martine
Haute Couture (2021)
as Esther
Our Story (1984)
as Donatienne Pouget / Marie-Thérèse Chatelard / Geneviève Avranche
A French Gigolo (2008)
as Judith
Laurence Anyways (2012)
as Julienne Alia
Médée (2017)
as The mother
Beautiful Lies (2010)
as Mady
And the Band Played On (1993)
as Dr. Françoise Barre
Bye Bye (2011)
as Cécile
Marie-Octobre (2008)
as Marie-Hélène Dumoulin / Marie-Octobre
The Last Woman (1976)
as la fille aux cerises
An Affair of Love (1999)
as Her
Nicole Garcia, actrice-cinéaste (2023)
as Self
To Mathieu (2001)
as Claire
Paparazzi (1998)
as Nicole, de l'agence Magma
SK1 (2015)
as Frédérique Pons
Fill 'er Up with Super (1976)
as Charlotte
The Assistant (2015)
as Marie-France
The Return of Martin Guerre (1982)
as Bertrande de Rols
Michou d'Auber (2007)
as Gisèle
Visage (2009)
as Nathalie
The Mouth Agape (1974)
as Nathalie
Queens of the Ring (2013)
as Colette
The Green Room (1978)
as Cecilia Mandel
The Slap (1974)
as Christine Abeillé
Every Man for Himself (1980)
as Denise Rimbaud
My Son (2006)
as Mother / La mère
One Stays, the Other Leaves (2005)
as Fanny
Rat Race (1980)
as Brigitte Ozendron
C'est La Vie (1990)
as Lena
Barnie's Minor Annoyances (2001)
as Lucie
François Truffaut, une autobiographie (2004)
as Self
A Day in the Life of French Cinema (2002)
as Self
Le soir où j'ai reçu le César 2022 (2022)
as Self
Venus Beauty Institute (1999)
as Angèle Piana
The Young Lieutenant (2005)
as Commandant Vaudieu
The Voice (1992)
as Lorraine
Sauve la vie (qui peut) (1981)
as Self (archive footage)
Faustine and the Beautiful Summer (1972)
as Giselle
L'Inconnu (1973)
Actor
The Flower of Evil (2003)
as Anne Charpin-Vasseur
Strange Affair (1981)
as Nina Coline
The Man Who Loved Women (1977)
as Martine Desdoits
Lou! (2014)
as Jeanne (La grand-mère)
Madame Sourdis (1979)
as Adèle Sourdis
Alibi.com 2 (2023)
as Mme Martin
Mensonge (1993)
as Emma
Godard by Godard (2023)
as Self (archive footage)
I've Been Waiting So Long (2004)
as Jeanne
Esquisse d'une jeune femme sens dessus dessous (1975)
as Fabienne Veyrier, the young woman
Absolutely Fabulous (2001)
as Patricia 'Patsy' Laroche
Bon vent Claude Goretta (2011)
as Self
Small World (2010)
as Elisabeth Senn
Beethoven's Nephew (1985)
as Leonore
The Man Inside (1990)
as Christine
Mado (1976)
as Catherine
The Guardians (2017)
as Hortense Sandrail
Rive droite, rive gauche (1984)
as Sacha Vernakis
Food of Love (1997)
as Michele
La Balance (1982)
as Nicole Danet
Honeymoon (1985)
as Cécile Carline
Conversation avec Nathalie Baye (2021)
as Self
Sous le soleil de Pialat (2021)
as Self
Mother Valley (2023)
as Hélène
Tomorrow's Another Day (2000)
as Sophie
France Boutique (2003)
as Sofia
My Best Part (2020)
as Bernadette Meyer
Jacques Villeret, drôlement tragique (2025)
as Self
Godard Cinema (2023)
as Self
Engagements of the Heart (1987)
as Alice
I Married a Shadow (1983)
as Hélène
A Week's Vacation (1980)
as Laurence Cuers
The Price to Pay (2007)
as Odile Ménard
Off and Running (2008)
as Irène Montier-Duval
God's Offices (2008)
as Anne
Xavier Dolan: Bound to Impossible (2016)
as Self
Enfants de salaud (1996)
as Sophie
Les contes sauvages (1993)
as Narrator (voice)
The Honeymoon Trip (1976)
as Sophie
Solemn Communion (1977)
as Jeanne Vanderberghe
Together Is Too Much (2010)
as Marie-France
Les Enfoirés 1996 - La Soirée des Enfoirés (1996)
Actor
The Red Shade (1981)
as Anna
Him (2021)
as Mother
The Machine (1994)
as Marie Lacroix
No Harm Intended (1988)
as Catherine Duchêne
From Time to Time (1992)
as Madame de Pompadour
Les Enfoirés - Les Enfoirés en chœur de 1985 à aujourd'hui (2014)
Actor
Mon Premier Amour (1978)
as Fabienne
The Great Restaurant (2010)
as Une cliente du restaurant
Scénario de 'Sauve qui peut la vie' (1979)
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Soirée Pyjama (2019)
as Self - Guest
Monsieur Papa (1977)
as Janine
Jean-Pierre Léaud: The Child of Cinema (2024)
as Self - Actress
Every Other Weekend (1990)
as Camille Valmont
Voyage à travers un film (Sauve qui peut (la vie)) (1981)
as Self
Short Memory (1982)
as Judith Mesnil
Préjudice (2015)
as Mother
Beware of My Love (1998)
as Muriel
Massacre Play (1989)
as Bella
Acteur (2007)
as Camille
La provinciale (1981)
as Christine Delumet
Bacri, comme un air de famille (2022)
as Self
Sheila, toutes ces vies-là (2022)
as Self (archive footage)
Un jour, la fête (1975)
as Julie
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
Thomas (2018)
as Anne Lancrey