She was one of the faces of French cinema, an actress respected and loved by everyone (even Steven Spielberg). At the age of 77, Nathalie Baye passed away, leaving behind thousands of fans and her daughter, Laura Smet. For several weeks, the latter has been working on projects in memory of her mother. According to Dominique Besnehard, former agent of the actress and godfather of Laura Smet, Johnny Hallyday’s daughter and himself are preparing an audiovisual project in tribute to Nathalie Baye. At this time, no further information is known.
The attentions of Dominique Besnehard in memory of Nathalie Baye
During the second edition of the Festival Lumiere des Alpilles (which is held from June 4 to 7), of which Dominique Besnehard is the president, the latter increased the attentions for “his great friend”. During a screening, the public was able to rediscover Madame SourdisNathalie Baye’s very first film broadcast on the small screen. That’s not all: the festival also broadcast the episode of the iconic series Ten percentdirected by Cédric Klapisch. An episode titled Nathalie and Laurawhich highlighted the relationship between the mother and her daughter, with a lot of humor and self-deprecation.
On April 20, Dominique Besnehard spoke about his relationship with Nathalie Baye on the set of C à vous. He also returned to the relationship between her and her daughter, and in particular to the protective role of the actress: “It wasn’t easy, her emotional life, anyway. Losing her father and being Johnny Hallyday’s daughter. Fortunately Nathalie was always there to protect her.”
The single Nothing Lasts by Laura Smet, in homage to her mother
In addition to the documentary made with Dominique Besnehard, Laura Smet also paid tribute to her mother with her voice, in the title Nothing Lasts. Music composed with the electro-pop duo The Penelopes. It was Nathalie Baye who introduced her daughter to the Franco-British group. Laura Smet and The Penelopes recorded the song several months before the actress’ death, but the single had not yet been released and was initially intended to be revealed in another context.
However, the death of Nathalie Baye changed the plans of Laura Smet, who decided to release the song on the platforms on May 29: “With time and recent events, this song began to resonate differently for the three of us.” she communicated with the group. The public then discovered a piano ballad, soft and slow, with a hidden homage at the very end, since the clip ends on a black screen soberly bearing the words: “For Nathalie. With love and light.” On June 4, Laura Smet also shared a photo of her and her mother on Instagram. One more tribute for a daughter who will always love her mother.
