Nathalie Baye, French actor known for her warmth and versatility, dies at 77
PARIS — Nathalie Baye, a French actor who was a fan’s favorite for her down-to-earth charm and great versatility, has died. She was 77.
French president Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to an actor “with whom we loved, dreamed and grew.” French media reported that Baye died on Friday in Paris from a neurodegenerative disease, quoting a statement from her relatives.
“We loved Nathalie Baye so much,” Macron wrote in a message on X. “Through her voice, her smiles, and her modesty, she accompanied the past decades of French cinema, from Francois Truffaut to Tonie Marshall.”
Baye featured in more than 80 movies, switching from mainstream comedies to auteur films with ease in a career that spanned over five decades. She twice claimed the prize for best actress at the Cesars, France’s equivalent of the Oscars.
Baye, who was Leonardo DiCaprio’s on-screen mother in Steven Spielberg’s “Catch Me If You Can,” won both popular and critical acclaim for her role in “Venus Beauty Institute,” a romantic comedy that follows three women working in a Parisian beauty salon as they search for fulfillment. Marshall won the Cesar award for best director in 2000 for the movie.