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Actress Nathalie Baye has died at the age of 77 from Lewy body disease, her loved ones announced on Saturday. She played everything without giving in to the easy way out. Strong and resilient, she tackled arthouse cinema as well as popular comedies. As discreet as she was radiant, the Frenchwoman established herself as an indispensable actress, a star without the ego.

Bold, she broke free from her classic and wise image to unleash her whimsy and cultivate a rich filmography. From François Truffaut (“Day for Night”…) to Xavier Dolan (“It’s Only the End of the World”) and Bertrand Blier (“Our Story”), Tonie Marshall (“Venus Beauty”) and Claude Chabrol (“The Flower of Evil”).

She made a quick trip to Hollywood, playing Leonardo DiCaprio’s mother in Steven Spielberg’s “Catch Me If You Can,” portrayed the wild duo with Josiane Balasko in the French remake of “Ab Fab,” gained popularity in the very successful comedy series “Alibi.com” 1 and 2 and honed her (excellent) English in the film “Downton Abbey 2,” a sequel to the British TV series that took the world by storm.

Four César Awards and a Volpi Cup

Beloved by cinephiles and the general public alike, she was a multiple César Award winner. Snagging the statue three years in a row, from 1981 to 1983: best supporting role in Godard’s “Every Man for Himself” and Granier-Deferre’s “Strange Affair”; best actress for Bob Swaim’s “La Balance.” She was again honored in 2006 for “The Young Lieutenant.” Not to mention the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival for “A Pornographic Affair.”

“Celebrity isn’t necessarily the goal, success is,” said the actress who always loathed the fuss and glitter and opted for “gentle notoriety.”

Tall and simple, with a soft, almost whispering voice, she had that little something extra that Bertrand Tavernier, who directed her in “A Week’s Vacation,” said: “it goes beyond photogenicity. She knows how to be loved by the light.”

She also shone on stage, from Chekhov to Marivaux or alone on stage in “Zouc by Zouc.” And on television, playing herself in the series “Call My Agent!”.

Dance, Theater, and Then Cinema

Born on July 6, 1948 in Mainneville, in northwestern France, Nathalie Baye, the daughter of bohemian artist-painters, grew up in Paris and then Menton (French Riviera). “I had to build myself in the deconstruction of my parents, who were funny but suffering. In perpetual adolescence crisis.”

Hating school – due to her dyslexia and dyscalculia – she dropped out at 14 and joined a dance class in Monaco. “Dance structured me and made me strong.” Dreaming of being a ballerina, she pursued her dream for a year in New York.

Back in Paris, she entered the Simon course. Enchanted, she later attended the Conservatory. “Dance required me to force myself all the time, while acting immediately gave me a sense of well-being.”

She started in theater, thinking she didn’t belong in cinema. “For me, it was for bombshells…” Her encounter with Truffaut changed everything.

“You’re a natural, you need to learn to protect yourself,” Romy Schneider once whispered to her. Advice that she, who also suffered from severe claustrophobia, applied rigorously in her private life.

Johnny, Father of Laura

She armored herself, trying to keep the paparazzi at bay who, in the 80s, tracked the couple she formed for a while with “the young idol,” singer Johnny Hallyday, father of her only daughter Laura Smet, who also became an actress.

A surprising duo. “We had a good laugh together,” she said. “Johnny wasn’t what people expected, he was much better than that.” “She intellectualized him, he popularized her,” summarized Dominique Besnehard, her former agent.

She also shared her life with another tortured soul, actor Philippe Léotard, Pierre Lescure, who was notably the president of the Cannes Film Festival, and politician Jean-Louis Borloo. But, fiercely independent, she never married. “I sometimes need space, it’s complicated to live for others.”

She also always cherished her freedom of speech – signing a support letter for Gérard Depardieu in 2023 – who has been under investigation for rape since 2020 – and didn’t care about her age: “the best way to move forward is to brush it off!”

“My greatest pride is to have succeeded in being in tune with my little dreams,” asserted the discreet actress, who was discovered Friday night at her home, according to her loved ones, from Lewy body disease (LBD), a neurodegenerative disorder.

French Culture Minister Catherine Pégard expressed her “emotion” at “the passing of a tremendous actress.” “Nathalie Baye illuminated a long chapter of French cinema history with her talent and luminous personality. I offer my condolences to her family, the film community, and all those who loved her,” she stated to AFP.