Nathalie Baye first appeared in the television series ‘Au théâtre ce soir’ in 1970. She went on to make her big-screen debut in the 1973 American drama film ‘Two People’ directed by Robert Wise. The film received more of a mixed response from critics. The following year, she starred as ‘Joelle’ in the French film ‘Day for Night’ directed by François Truffaut. The film earned praise from critics and went on to win the ‘Academy Award’ for ‘Best Foreign Language Film.’ She continued on to appear in films and television series such as ‘The Mouth Agape’ (1974), ‘Cinéma 16’ (1975), ‘The Last Woman’ (1976), ‘Mado’ (1976), ‘The Man Who Loved Women’ (1977), ‘Les Cinq Dernières Minutes’ (1977), and ‘The Green Room’ (1978). Baye became a recipient of the ‘César Award’ for her performance as ‘Denise Rimbaud’ in the 1980 drama film ‘Every Man for Himself’ directed by Jean-Luc Godard. The film received positive reviews from critics. She next starred in films like ‘Strange Affair’ (1981), ‘Beau-père’ (1981), ‘The Return of Martin Guerre’ (1982), ‘J'ai épousé une ombre’ (1983), ‘Our Story’ (1984), ‘Détective’ (1985), ‘Honeymoon’ (1985), ‘De guerre lasse’ (1987), ‘Massacre Play’ (1989), ‘The Man Inside’ (1990), ‘Every Other Weekend’ (1990), ‘The Voice’ (1990), ‘Mensonge’ (1993), ‘And the Band Played On’ (1993), ‘La Machine’ (1994), ‘La Mère’ (1995), ‘Enfants de salaud’ (1996), ‘Food of Love’ (1997), and ‘Paparazzi’ (1997).
In 1999, she starred as ‘Angèle’ in the French romantic comedy ‘Venus Beauty Institute’ directed by Tonie Marshall. Baye won the ‘Seattle International Film Festival Award’ for ‘Best Actress’ for her performance in the film. She continued to star in films and television shows like ‘To Matthieu’ (2000), ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ (2001), ‘Catch Me If You Can’ (2002), ‘Feelings’ (2003), ‘Une vie à t'attendre’ (2004), ‘The Young Lieutenant’ (2005), ‘French California’ (2006), ‘Mon fils à moi’ (2006), ‘The Price to Pay’ (2007), ‘A French Gigolo’ (2008), ‘Face’ (2009), ‘Small World’ (2010), ‘Spin’ (2012), ‘Queens of the Ring’ (2013), ‘L'Affaire SK1’ (2014), ‘Prejudice’ (2015), ‘Moka’ (2016), ‘Alibi.com’ (2017), ‘Criminal: France’ (2019), and ‘My Best Part’ (2020). Baye was last seen in the 2022 historical drama film ‘Downton Abbey: A New Era’ directed by Simon Curtis. The film received a positive response from critics and holds an 86% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
