Mathilda May (born Karin Haïm; 8 February 1965) is a French film actress.

Early life

May was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Her father, playwright Victor Haïm, is of Sephardic Jewish ( Greek-Jewish and Turkish-Jewish) descent. Her mother is the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

ballet teacher and choreographer Margareta Hanson. At age 16 May won the "Premier Prix du Conservatoire de Danse de Paris" (First Prize of the Paris Dance Conservatory).

Career

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

Prix Romy Schneider The Prix Romy Schneider (Romy Schneider Award) is awarded annually to a young and upcoming actress working in the French film industry. It is named after the actress Romy Schneider (1938–1982). The prize is awarded by a jury each year in Paris ...

in 1989. Non-French films she has appeared in include '' Naked Tango'' (1991), '' 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 vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...

in the 1985

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

- horror film '' Lifeforce'', directed by

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

, 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 suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,145 as of 2016. The nearest communes are Nanterre, Puteaux, Rueil-Malmaison, Saint-Cloud a ...

, the

Théâtre du Rond-Point The Théâtre du Rond-Point is a theatre in Paris, located at 2bis avenue Franklin-D.-Roosevelt, 8th arrondissement. History The theatre began with an 1838 project of architect Jacques Ignace Hittorff for a rotunda in the Champs Elysees. Inau ...

, and the

Théâtre de Paris The Théâtre de Paris is a theatre located at 15, rue Blanche in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. It includes a second smaller venue, the Petit Théâtre de Paris. History The first theatre on the site was built by the Duke of Richelieu in 1730. ...

from 2013 to 2015.

Personal life

May has been married three times: Her first husband was Paul Powell. Her second husband was

Gérard Darmon Gérard Darmon (born 29 February 1948) is a French- Moroccan actor and singer. Personal life He was the second husband of actress Mathilda May (mother of his two youngest children). He has three children: Virginie (born 1968) and, by May, daug ...

, 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.

Filmography

References

External links

Mathilda May
at Allmovie
Mathilda May
at

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