French icon, Nathalie Baye breathes her last at 77

Nathalie Baye, French film icon and four-time Cesar Award winner, passed away at the age of 77.

Her family announced her death to AFP on Saturday, April 18, revealing that the actress took her last breath on Friday.

It was reported that Nathalie Baye passed away at her home in Paris following complications from Lewy body dementia, which is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting cognition, movement, and behaviour.

Her health challenges emerged last summer when her condition deteriorated significantly and it was then revealed that she was struggling with Lewy body dementia.

Born in July 1948, Baye enjoyed a career spanning for almost 6 decades years, during which she appeared in 80 different films.

Initially trained as a dancer, she transitioned to acting in 1970 and captured audience's hearts through her performance in Franchois Truffaut's Day for Night in 1973.

She experimented different film genres from dramatic indies to international Hollywood productions like Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can in 2002.

Through her phenomenal career, Baye was nominated 10 times for the Cesar Awards, winning four times.

Her first victory came in 1981 for Best Supporting Actress in Every Man for Himself, following which she won for Strange Affair (1981), La Balance (1982), and The Young Lieutenant (2005).

In 2009, the French government appointed her Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, honouring her lifetime contributions to French cinema and culture.