During her long and exceptional career, Nathalie Baye crossed paths with a multitude of actors and actresses. Whether they acted together, walked the red carpet at Cannes, or shared a meal during formal receptions, they all kept in their memory the image of a great lady, superb in talent and generosity. On Friday, April 24, the French cinema came to pay a final tribute to this versatile actress during the funeral held at the Saint-Sulpice church in Paris.
Catherine Deneuve, Fanny Ardant, Brigitte Fossey, Audrey Tautou, Josiane Balasko, Marilou Berry, Emmanuelle Devos, Chiara Mastroianni, Mathilde Seigner, and other prominent figures of French cinema were seen in front of the religious building. All dressed in black, with impassive faces out of respect and discretion, these leading women of the 7th art came to support Laura Smet, the only daughter of Nathalie Baye. Smet arrived at the same time as the coffin and swiftly entered the church to avoid photographers.
Dominique Besnehard’s farewell to his lifelong friend: Among the personalities who came to bid farewell to Nathalie Baye were actors Guillaume Canet, Jacques Weber, André Dussolier, Roschdy Zem, director Xavier Dolan, and singer Benjamin Biolay. Producer Dominique Besnehard arrived with Jean-Louis Borloo and Eddy Mitchell. A friend of the actress for over 40 years, he shared his tribute with Paris Match the day after the announcement of her passing on April 17. In a long account, he reminisced about the great moments of their beautiful relationship:
“I met Nathalie in 1979 in an elevator while joining Pierre Granier-Deferre who was preparing ‘Strange Affair.’ I was a casting director at the time. From that day on, we never parted ways. We then did ‘The Return of Martin Guerre’ and ‘The Balance.’ When I became an agent at Artmedia in 1985, she naturally wanted me to represent her. For 20 years, we called each other every day. My best vacation memories are at her house in Creuse. Some years, Johnny Hallyday would join us. She loved that place, because Nathalie Baye was not pretentious, she was authentic. Anything but a flashy actress.”
