# Mathilda May

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 (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, 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 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 in the science fiction/horror film Lifeforce (1985), directed by Tobe Hooper. 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, the Théâtre du Rond-Point, and the Théâtre de Paris 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

| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
| 1984 | Nemo | Alice | Arnaud Sélignac | |
| 1985 | Lifeforce | Space Girl | Tobe Hooper | |
| 1985 | Giorno dopo giorno | | Salvatore Nocita | TV series |
| 1985 | Les Rois du gag | Alexandra | Claude Zidi | |
| 1986 | Les louves | Agnès | Peter Duffell | TV film |
| 1986 | Se un giorno busserai alla mia porta | Claudia Bandini | Luigi Perelli | TV miniseries |
| 1987 | La vie dissolue de Gérard Floque | Pauline | Georges Lautner | |
| 1987 | The Cry of the Owl | Juliette | Claude Chabrol | César Award for Most Promising Actress |
| 1988 | The Secret of the Sahara | Myriam | Alberto Negrin | TV miniseries |
| 1988 | La passerelle | Cora Elbaz | Jean-Claude Sussfeld | |
| 1988 | Piazza Navona | Jeanne | Roger Guillot | TV series (Episode 6) |
| 1988 | L'heure Simenon | Edmée | Josef Rusnak | TV series (Episode 10) |
| 1988 | Three Seats for the 26th | Marion | Jacques Demy | |
| 1990 | Naked Tango | Alba/Stéphanie | Leonard Schrader | |
| 1991 | Isabelle Eberhardt | Isabelle Eberhardt | Ian Pringle | |
| 1991 | Scream of Stone | Katharina | Werner Herzog | |
| 1991 | Becoming Colette | Sidonie Gabrielle Colette | Danny Huston | |
| 1992 | Toutes peines confondues | Jeanne Gardella | Michel Deville | |
| 1994 | Le voleur et la menteuse | Suzanne Henson | Paul Boujenah | |
| 1994 | Dead Tired | Herself | Michel Blanc | |
| 1994 | The Whipping Boy | Betsy | Syd Macartney | TV film |
| 1994 | The Tit and the Moon | Estrellita | Bigas Luna | |
| 1996 | Celluloide | Cameo | Carlo Lizzani | |
| 1996 | Noces cruelles | Sandra | Bertrand Van Effenterre | TV film |
| 1996 | La ferme du crocodile | Sandrine Jaussier | Didier Albert | TV film |
| 1996 | Privateer 2: The Darkening | Melissa Banks | Steve Hilliker Erin Roberts | Video game |
| 1997 | The Jackal | Isabella Zanconia | Michael Caton-Jones | |
| 1998 | Only Love | Silvia Rinaldi | John Erman | TV film |
| 1999 | Entrevue | Alix | Marie-Pierre Huster | Short |
| 2000 | Là-bas... mon pays | Nelly Azera | Alexandre Arcady | |
| 2000 | Les redoutables | Military woman | Thierry Barthes Pierre Jamin | TV series (Episode 6) |
| 2001 | De toute urgence | Julie | Philippe Triboit | TV film |
| 2001 | Caméra Café | The Boss's wife | | TV series (Season 1, Episode 43) |
| 2002 | Fabio Montale | Hélène Pessayre | José Pinheiro | TV miniseries (Episodes 2–3) |
| 2002 | Perlasca – Un eroe Italiano | Contessa Eleonora | Alberto Negrin (2) | TV film |
| 2003 | Soyez prudents... | | Lionel Gédébé | TV series |
| 2003 | Soraya [it] | Shams Pahlavi | Lodovico Gasparini | TV film |
| 2004 | Love Express | Anne-Charlotte | Elena Hazanov | |
| 2005 | L'homme pressé | Irène Debord | Sébastien Grall | TV film |
| 2005 | L'homme qui voulait passer à la télé | Mélanie | Amar Arhab Fabrice Michelin | TV film |
| 2007 | New délire | Fanny's voice | Éric Le Roch | |
| 2007 | A Girl Cut in Two | Capucine Jamet | Claude Chabrol (2) | |
| 2009 | Au siècle de Maupassant | Thérèse de Marsanne | Gérard Jourd'hui | TV series (Season 2, Episode 2) |
| 2010 | Les nuits d'Alice | Angélique | Williams Crépin | TV film |
| 2011 | Une vie française | Anna Blick | Jean-Pierre Sinapi | TV film |
| 2012 | The Players | Ariane | Jean Dujardin | |
| 2012 | Clash | Laure Rossignol | Pascal Lahmani | TV series (Episodes 1, 5–6) |
| 2013 | La croisière | Françoise | Pascal Lahmani (2) | TV series (Episode 6) |
| 2013 | Délit de fuite | Cécile | Thierry Binisti | TV film |
| 2014 | Crossing Lines | Audrey St. Marie | Stephen Woolfenden | TV series (Season 2, Episode 9) |
| 2015 | On se retrouvera | Hélène Janson | Joyce Buñuel | TV film |
| 2016 | Mystère à l'Opéra | Éva Fontaine | Léa Fazer | TV film |
| 2018 | Access | Valérie Couderq | Varante Soudjian Frédéric Scotlande | TV series (Episodes 1–6, 8–12) |
| 2019 | Je ne rêve que de vous | Cora Madou | Laurent Heynemann | |
| 2020 | Coup de foudre à Bangkok | Sandrine Lafore | Chris Briant | TV film |
| 2021 | Le Chemin du bonheur | Sarah Glücksmann | Nicolas Steil | |
| 2023 | Daron | Coco | Frank Bellocq | TV series |

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