“Nathalie Baye is an unmistakable voice, a diction, a timbre, a rare and overwhelming smile, a look imbued with gentleness and audacity.” Isabelle, 60, from Lyon, is inexhaustible when she talks about the actress, who died Friday evening at the age of 77, following a neurodegenerative disease. News that sparked a wave of emotion in France. The actress leaves behind an impressive filmography, four Césars, and more than fifty years of career.
“All his films have marked our lives. Of Libra has A week’s vacation passing through The Return of Martin Guerre or The Little Lieutenant …”, ignites Lucien, 81 years old, from Savigneux (Loire). Christian, 77, from Lyon, vividly remembers his first meeting with the actress on the big screen: “It was in American Night by Truffaut. What charm, what grace! », he exclaims. For Marie-Claude, 74, from Meulan-en-Yvelines, the revelation dates back to 1983: “I discovered this moving actress in I married a shadow. I liked Nathalie Baye because she had talent and could play everything, from drama to comedy.” Hervé, 58, from Dijon, discovered the actress with Libra : “A very good French-style thriller,” he believes.
“His moving power of incarnation”
Over the decades, Nathalie Baye has worked with the greatest directors, from Jean-Luc Godard to François Truffaut, including Steven Spielberg, Bertrand Blier and Xavier Dolan. If we had to choose only one film with the actress, Véronique, 61 years old who lives in Ardèche, would keep The Return of Martin Guerre : “She is incredible in her truth, in her gentleness… And this is how she has led her career and her private life, by feeling, gently…”, she believes. As for Isabelle, previously cited, she evokes pell-mell: One week of vacations, The green room, Libra, Every other weekend, The Little Lieutenant, Just the end of the world …
Because for our reader, one of Nathalie Baye’s great qualities was her eclecticism. “I liked the way she zigzagged between arthouse films and popular films, giving body and depth to characters like those she portrayed in I married a shadow, Venus beauty (Institute), The Return of Martin Guerre … His moving power of incarnation gave these films a special light,” she analyzes. An opinion shared by Estelle, 54, from Luttange (Moselle): “We will remember an actress of great finesse, capable of embodying very different characters with remarkable accuracy. » Those who saw her on stage also remember with stars in their eyes, like Nadia, 48, from Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin): “She played Marivaux’s false confidences. Her grace, her natural elegance and her humility had an impact on me; I still remember her luminous smile. »
“The memory of an elegant woman”
But beyond the actress, it is also the woman who left her mark on the French. Her intelligence, her elegance, her simplicity… “I remember her as a very charming and superb actress. A beautiful, frank, faithful, selfless, authentic person like no other,” says Alina. Yves, 74, from Longvic (Côte-d’Or) is also rave: “She was an adorable actress who was never involved in scandals. She was always smiling in interviews and never criticized others. » Marie, 68, who lives in Bas-Rhin, emphasizes “her grace as a dancer which has never left her, whether on the screen or on television. »
An intact popularity which has not faded among those who were lucky enough to come across her. As Gidy, 36, from Michelbach-le-Bas (Haut-Rhin), remembers a chance meeting in a restaurant in Gstaad: “She was accompanied by Johnny Hallyday, Laëtitia and Laura. She was attentive, discreet, with quiet strength. I kept the memory of an elegant, protective woman full of maternal love,” he recalls with emotion. Proof that Nathalie Baye will continue to live in the collective memory for a long time.
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