Mathilda May (born Karin Haïm; 8 February 1965) is a French film actress and director. Her most well-known roles include portraying Space Girl in '' Lifeforce'' (1985) and Jeanne Gardella in '' Toutes peines confondues'' (1992). Her father is Victor Haïm (born Victor Lévy) the French playwright, actor, screenwriter, director and drama teacher, whose works have been translated and performed in several countries.

Early life

May was born in Paris, France. Her father, playwright, screenwriter, and actor Victor Haïm, is of

Sephardic Jewish Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

(Greek and Turkish) descent. Her mother is the Swedish ballet teacher and choreographer Margareta Hanson. She studied under Christiane Vaussard at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

, graduating at age 16.

Career

May's film work is primarily in French and made for the European market. She was the recipient of the

César Award for Most Promising Actress Cesar or César may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''César'' (film), a 1936 French romantic drama * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt Places * Cesar, Portugal * Cesar Department, Colombia * Cesar River, in Colombia * Cesar ...

in 1988 and the Prix Romy Schneider in 1989. Non-French films she has appeared in include '' Naked Tango'' (1990), '' Becoming Colette'' (1991) and '' The Tit and the Moon'' (1994). In the United States, she is best known for her role as an alien

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

in the

Tobe Hooper Willard Tobe Hooper (; January 25, 1943 – August 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker, best known for his work in the horror film, horror genre. The British Film Institute cited Hooper as one of the most influential horror filmmakers of al ...

science fiction/horror film '' Lifeforce'' (1985), in which she is naked for most of her performance. She also appeared in the 1996 space adventure game '' Privateer 2: The Darkening''. She played Isabella in '' The Jackal'', a 1997 action film. May recorded an album in 1992 called ''Joy of Love''. May was the writer and director for the theater show ''Open Space'', which was performed in the Théâtre Jean-Vilar in the commune of

Suresnes Suresnes () is a commune in the western inner suburbs of Paris, France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,482 as of 2020. Suresnes borders the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, ...

, the Théâtre du Rond-Point, and the

Théâtre de Paris The Théâtre de Paris () is a theatre located at 15, rue Blanche in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, 9th arrondissement of Paris. It includes a second smaller venue, the Petit Théâtre de Paris. History The first theatre on the site was built b ...

from 2013 to 2015. ''Open Space'' was a show without words; the story was presented by movement, music, and sound. May said of the show:

It will be choreographed without it being dance, and musical without an instrument.

Personal life

May has been married four times. Her first husband was Paul Powell. Her second husband was Gérard Darmon, with whom she has two children, daughter Sarah (born 17 August 1994) and son Jules (born 4 March 1997). Her third husband was Philippe Kelly. Her fourth husband was Sly Johnson.

Filmography

Award and accolades

* The César Award (the national film award of France): 1988 Best Young Female Newcomer for ''The Cry of the Owl'' * The 1989 Romy Schneider Award * The 2019 Molliere for Best Director of a Public Theatre Show for ''The Wedding Banquet'' * The 2020 Molliere for Best Solo Performance for her production of Monsieur X starring

Pierre Richard Pierre Richard (born Pierre-Richard Maurice Charles Léopold Defays; 16 August 1934) is a France, French actor, film director and screenwriter, best known for the roles of a clumsy daydreamer in comedy films. Richard is considered by some, such a ...

at the Théâtre de l’Atelier. * The 2020 SACD ( Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques) for Best Director''
''

References

External links

Mathilda May
at

Yahoo! Movies Yahoo! Movies (formerly Upcoming Movies), provided by the Yahoo! network, was home to a large collection of information on movies, past and new releases, trailers and clips, box office information, and showtimes and movie theater information. Ya ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:May, Mathilda 1965 births Living people 20th-century French actresses 20th-century French Sephardi Jews 21st-century French actresses 21st-century French Sephardi Jews Actresses from Paris Conservatoire de Paris alumni French film actresses French people of Greek-Jewish descent French people of Swedish descent French people of Turkish-Jewish descent French television actresses Jewish French actresses Most Promising Actress César Award winners