Mathilda May

Mathilda May
Mathilda May
	May in 2010
Born	Karin Haïm; 8 February 1965 (age 59); Paris, France
Education	Conservatoire de Paris
Years active	1984–present
Spouses	Paul Powell (m. 1991⁠–⁠1993); Gérard Darmon (m. 1994⁠–⁠1999); Philippe Kelly (m. 2000⁠–⁠2006); Sly Johnson;
Children	2
Father	Victor Haïm

Mathilda May (born Karin Haïm;^[2] 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, of whom his works have been translated and performed in several countries.

Early life

May was born in Paris, France. Her father, playwright,^[3] screenwriter, and actor Victor Haïm, is of Sephardic Jewish (Greek and Turkish) descent. Her mother is the Swedish ballet teacher and choreographer Margareta Hanson.^[4] She studied under Christiane Vaussard at the Conservatoire de Paris, graduating at age 16.^[5]

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^[6] 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.^[7]^[8]

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.^[9]^[10]^[11] Open Space was a show without words and the story was presented by movement, music, and sound. May described the show as:

It will be choreographed without it being dance, and musical without an instrument.^[12]

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
	Giorno dopo giorno		Salvatore Nocita	TV series
	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
	La passerelle	Cora Elbaz	Jean-Claude Sussfeld
	Piazza Navona	Jeanne	Roger Guillot	TV series (Episode 6)
	L'heure Simenon	Edmée	Josef Rusnak	TV series (Episode 10)
	Three Seats for the 26th	Marion	Jacques Demy
1990	Naked Tango	Alba/Stéphanie	Leonard Schrader
1991	Isabelle Eberhardt	Isabelle Eberhardt	Ian Pringle
	Scream of Stone	Katharina	Werner Herzog
	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
	Dead Tired	Herself	Michel Blanc
	The Whipping Boy	Betsy	Syd Macartney	TV film
	The Tit and the Moon	Estrellita	Bigas Luna
1996	Celluloide	Cameo	Carlo Lizzani
	Noces cruelles	Sandra	Bertrand Van Effenterre	TV film
	La ferme du crocodile	Sandrine Jaussier	Didier Albert	TV film
	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 Schnieder Award
The 2019 Molliere for Best Director of a Public Theatre Show for The Wedding Banquet^[13]
The 2020 Molliere for Best Solo Performance for her production of Monsieur X starring Pierre Richard at the Théâtre de l’Atelier.^[14]
The 2020 SACD (Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques) for Best Director^[15]

References

^ Ouadhi, Sonia (8 February 2022). "Mathilda May fête ses 57 ans : qui est son compagnon le chanteur Sly Johnson ?". Voici (in French). Retrieved 9 February 2022.
^ May, Mathilda (2018). "Prologue". V.O. (in French). Paris: Éditions Plon. ISBN 978-2-259-26450-1.
^ C.R.I.S, Association. "Actualités de Victor Haïm, actualités, textes, spectacles, vidéos, tous ses liens avec la scène - theatre-contemporain.net". theatre-contemporain.net (in French).
^ Gurtler, Matthias; Simon-Michel, Joséphine (15 January 2008). "CV de stars: Mathilda May". VSD (in French). Archived from the original on 1 March 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
^ "Mathilda May : "je renoue avec moi-même"". Danser canal historique (in French). 29 January 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
^ "The Cry of the Owl (translated from French)".
^ "Mathilda May – Album Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
^ "Mathilda May – Mathilda May". Discogs. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
^ Blanchard, Sandrine (16 October 2013). "La petite entreprise de Mathilda May". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 24 April 2021.
^ Patricelli, Sonia (9 June 2015). "Mathilda May, dans l'enfer de l'open space". France 24 (in French). Retrieved 24 April 2021.
^ "A ne pas rater : Open Space, le spectacle burlesque mis en scène par Mathilda May". Paris Select Book (in French). 24 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
^ "Open Space". Théâtre de Suresnes Jean Vilar (in French). 10 October 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
^ "Le Banquet - Théâtre de Paris | THEATREonline". www.theatreonline.com. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
^ Palmares 1987 - 2023.docx (lesmolieres.com)
^ "La SACD dévoile les 35 lauréats des Prix SACD 2020". SACD (in French). 12 June 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2024.

External links

[1] Ouadhi, Sonia (8 February 2022). "Mathilda May fête ses 57 ans : qui est son compagnon le chanteur Sly Johnson ?". Voici (in French). Retrieved 9 February 2022.

[2] May, Mathilda (2018). "Prologue". V.O. (in French). Paris: Éditions Plon. ISBN 978-2-259-26450-1.

[3] C.R.I.S, Association. "Actualités de Victor Haïm, actualités, textes, spectacles, vidéos, tous ses liens avec la scène - theatre-contemporain.net". theatre-contemporain.net (in French).

[4] Gurtler, Matthias; Simon-Michel, Joséphine (15 January 2008). "CV de stars: Mathilda May". VSD (in French). Archived from the original on 1 March 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2023.

[5] "Mathilda May : "je renoue avec moi-même"". Danser canal historique (in French). 29 January 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2023.

[6] "The Cry of the Owl (translated from French)".

[7] "Mathilda May – Album Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 June 2023.

[8] "Mathilda May – Mathilda May". Discogs. Retrieved 8 June 2023.

[9] Blanchard, Sandrine (16 October 2013). "La petite entreprise de Mathilda May". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 24 April 2021.

[10] Patricelli, Sonia (9 June 2015). "Mathilda May, dans l'enfer de l'open space". France 24 (in French). Retrieved 24 April 2021.

[11] "A ne pas rater : Open Space, le spectacle burlesque mis en scène par Mathilda May". Paris Select Book (in French). 24 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2021.

[12] "Open Space". Théâtre de Suresnes Jean Vilar (in French). 10 October 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2024.

[13] "Le Banquet - Théâtre de Paris | THEATREonline". www.theatreonline.com. Retrieved 6 May 2024.

[14] Palmares 1987 - 2023.docx (lesmolieres.com)

[15] "La SACD dévoile les 35 lauréats des Prix SACD 2020". SACD (in French). 12 June 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2024.

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