French actress Nathalie Baye dies at 77 after dementia battle

Nathalie Baye, the French film, television and stage actress, passes away at age of 77.

On April 17, she departed after a long battle with Lewy body dementia at her home in Paris as her family confirms.

The Catch Me If You Can artist health struggle worsened in the summer of 2025, per the Y Net News outlet.

The veteran star’s career spanned over five decades and has starred in over hundred roles.

Fans were left into a frenzy with the sudden loss of an icon, her colleagues have been showering tributes penning about her 

The Mainneville born artist started her career in 1973's French cinema in La Nuit Américaine, directed by Francois Truffaut.

Her breakthrough performance was in Sauve qui peut (la vie) in 1980. Other works include Downton Abbey: A New Era, Catch Me if You Can, and Laurence Anyways.

The ten-time César Award nominee was interested in theatre and cinema from a very young age.

She enrolled herself at the prestigious Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique de Paris in 1967 and graduated in 1971.

After her debut execution she worked with the legends of French cinema.

Baye is survived by her daughter, Laura Smet, 42, the famous French actress also appeared with her mother in Call My Agent!.