Tributes from the world of cinema multiplied on Saturday following the announcement of the death of Nathalie Baye, a demanding and popular actress on the French big screen, ex-partner of Johnny Hallyday and mother of their daughter, actress Laura Smet, who died at the age of 77 following a neurodegenerative disease.
This very discreet star, who played in films by François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Xavier Dolan, Bertrand Blier and Claude Chabrol, died “Friday evening at his Parisian home from Lewy body disease”, his family, including Laura Smet, announced to AFP.
This neurodegenerative disease manifests itself as a combination of disorders similar to Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
“From Truffaut to Godard, from Daniel Vigne to Spielberg, Nathalie was the typical French actress, the good friend. An actress loved by all, she played, she lived,” Gilles Jacob, the former president of the Cannes festival, responded to AFP.
“Nathalie, you take with you our giggles and the tender memories of our beginnings,” actor Richard Berry called out to her on Instagram when Xavier Dolan spoke of his “Montreal conversations in the editing room” with Nathalie Baye and greeted her with a few verses from Victor Hugo.
The Minister of Culture Catherine Pgard deplored to AFP the disappearance of a “huge actress”.
“We loved Nathalie Baye so much. An actress with whom we loved, dreamed, grew up,” greeted President Emmanuel Macron on the social network X.
Audacious, Nathalie Baye knew how to break her classic and wise image to give free rein to her fantasy and offer herself an impressive filmography. From François Truffaut (“American Night”) to Xavier Dolan (“Just the End of the World”) via Bertrand Blier (“Our Story”), Tonie Marshall (“Venus Beauty”) and Claude Chabrol (“The Flower of Evil”).
She made a short trip to Hollywood, playing Leonardo DiCaprio’s mother in Steven Spielberg’s “Catch Me If You Can”.
Born July 6, 1948 in Mainneville (Eure), Nathalie Baye, daughter of bohemian painters, grew up in Paris then Menton. Having left school early, she made her debut in the theater before meeting François Truffaut.
The director offered him his first major role in the cinema, in 1973, in “American Night”. Nathalie Baye’s notoriety exploded in 1980 with the film “Sauve qui peut (la vie)”, by Jean-Luc Godard.
Four Caesars and a voice that left its mark
Sandrine Kiberlain remembered her voice, “this timbre which marked my adolescence and my life”. Producer Dominique Besnehard, her agent for a time, recalled on RTL that “women adored her and men respected her”.
Former companion of rockstar Johnny Hallyday, the French actress, who had achieved the feat of being loved by film buffs and the general public alike, was a multiple César winner (twice for a leading role, twice for a supporting role), notably winning the statuette three years in a row from 1981 to 1983, then again in 2006 for “The Little Lieutenant”. Without forgetting the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival for “A Pornographic Liaison” in 1999.
She also shared the life of another skinned alive, the actor Philippe Léotard, Pierre Lescure and the politician Jean-Louis Borloo.
Towards the end of this rich and very eclectic career comprising nearly a hundred films, his appearances were rarer. Nathalie Baye had canceled her presence at a charity event last July, the “Rose Days”, of which she was an ambassador.
David Hallyday in support of his half-sister
David Hallyday, Laura’s half-brother, immediately had a thought for her: “It’s not possible…Laura I love you”, accompanied by a portrait of the actress with light eyes.
Committed, member of the Honorary Committee of the association for the right to die with dignity (ADMD), which campaigns for the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide, Nathalie Baye signed the manifesto of 109 personalities in 2023 to call on Emmanuel Macron to change the law on end of life.
The same year, this woman very attached to her freedom of tone had signed another more controversial text, a column in support of Gérard Depardieu, indicted in particular for rape since 2020, an actor with whom she shared the poster, notably in “The Return of Martin Guerre”, by Daniel Vigne.
France 3 will pay tribute to him by broadcasting “Vénus Beauté (Institut)” and Arte, “La-Baule-Les-Pins” on Monday evening.
