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French actress Nathalie Baye, one of the most celebrated figures in French cinema and a multiple Cesar Award winner, has died at the age of 77, her family confirmed to AFP on Saturday.
Baye died on Friday evening at her home in Paris after suffering from Lewy body dementia, a neurodegenerative condition that can affect movement, mood and cause hallucinations, her family said.
A major presence in French film for decades, Baye appeared in around 80 productions and won the Cesar Award for best actress four times, including three consecutive victories between 1981 and 1983.
Her later career included internationally recognised roles such as Leonardo DiCaprio’s mother in Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me if You Can and a French aristocrat in Downton Abbey: A New Era.
She also collaborated with Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan, who cast her in Laurence Anyways and It’s Only the End of the World.
Her performance in Une liaison pornographique, released internationally as An Affair of Love, earned her the best actress award at the Venice Film Festival.
Baye was also known for her five-year relationship with singer Johnny Hallyday, often referred to as the “French Elvis.” His death in 2017 prompted nationwide mourning in France.
Their daughter, Laura Smet, is also an actress. The pair appeared together in the popular television series Call My Agent!, portraying fictionalised versions of themselves as competitive but close relatives.
Born in Normandy in 1948 to painter parents, Baye left school at 14 while struggling with dyslexia and moved to Monaco to study dance.
Her breakthrough came in the 1970s through collaborations with acclaimed directors including François Truffaut, Maurice Pialat and Claude Sautet, before later working with Jean-Luc Godard in the 1980s.
