| Birthname: | Karin Haïm |
| Birth Date: | 8 February 1965 |
| Birth Place: | Paris, France |
| Education: | Conservatoire de Paris |
| Years Active: | 1984–present |
| Children: | 2 |
| Father: | Victor Haïm |
Mathilda May (born Karin Haïm;[1] 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.
May was born in Paris, France. Her father, playwright,[2] screenwriter, and actor Victor Haïm, is of Sephardic Jewish (Greek and Turkish) descent. Her mother is the Swedish ballet teacher and choreographer Margareta Hanson.[3] She studied under Christiane Vaussard at the Conservatoire de Paris, graduating at age 16.[4]
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[5] 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 . She played Isabella in The Jackal, a 1997 action film.
May recorded an album in 1992 called Joy of Love.[6] [7]
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.[8] [9] [10] 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.[11]
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.
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Nemo | Alice | ||
| 1985 | Lifeforce | Space Girl | ||
| Giorno dopo giorno | TV series | |||
| Les Rois du gag | Alexandra | |||
| 1986 | Les louves | Agnès | TV film | |
| Se un giorno busserai alla mia porta | Claudia Bandini | TV miniseries | ||
| 1987 | La vie dissolue de Gérard Floque | Pauline | ||
| The Cry of the Owl | Juliette | César Award for Most Promising Actress | ||
| 1988 | The Secret of the Sahara | Myriam | TV miniseries | |
| La passerelle | Cora Elbaz | |||
| Piazza Navona | Jeanne | TV series (Episode 6) | ||
| L'heure Simenon | Edmée | TV series (Episode 10) | ||
| Three Seats for the 26th | Marion | |||
| 1990 | Naked Tango | Alba/Stéphanie | ||
| 1991 | Isabelle Eberhardt | Isabelle Eberhardt | ||
| Scream of Stone | Katharina | |||
| Becoming Colette | Sidonie Gabrielle Colette | |||
| 1992 | Toutes peines confondues | Jeanne Gardella | ||
| 1994 | Le voleur et la menteuse | Suzanne Henson | ||
| Dead Tired | Herself | |||
| The Whipping Boy | Betsy | TV film | ||
| The Tit and the Moon | Estrellita | |||
| 1996 | Celluloide | Cameo | ||
| Noces cruelles | Sandra | TV film | ||
| La ferme du crocodile | Sandrine Jaussier | TV film | ||
| Melissa Banks | Erin Roberts | Video game | ||
| 1997 | The Jackal | Isabella Zanconia | ||
| 1998 | Only Love | Silvia Rinaldi | TV film | |
| 1999 | Entrevue | Alix | Short | |
| 2000 | Là-bas... mon pays | Nelly Azera | ||
| Les redoutables | Military woman | Pierre Jamin | TV series (Episode 6) | |
| 2001 | De toute urgence | Julie | TV film | |
| Caméra Café | The Boss's wife | TV series (Season 1, Episode 43) | ||
| 2002 | Fabio Montale | Hélène Pessayre | TV miniseries (Episodes 2–3) | |
| Perlasca – Un eroe Italiano | Contessa Eleonora | (2) | TV film | |
| 2003 | Soyez prudents... | TV series | ||
| Shams Pahlavi | TV film | |||
| 2004 | Love Express | Anne-Charlotte | ||
| 2005 | L'homme pressé | Irène Debord | TV film | |
| L'homme qui voulait passer à la télé | Mélanie | Fabrice Michelin | TV film | |
| 2007 | New délire | Fanny's voice | ||
| A Girl Cut in Two | Capucine Jamet | (2) | ||
| 2009 | Au siècle de Maupassant | Thérèse de Marsanne | TV series (Season 2, Episode 2) | |
| 2010 | Les nuits d'Alice | Angélique | TV film | |
| 2011 | Une vie française | Anna Blick | TV film | |
| 2012 | The Players | Ariane | ||
| Clash | Laure Rossignol | TV series (Episodes 1, 5–6) | ||
| 2013 | La croisière | Françoise | (2) | TV series (Episode 6) |
| Délit de fuite | Cécile | TV film | ||
| 2014 | Crossing Lines | Audrey St. Marie | TV series (Season 2, Episode 9) | |
| 2015 | On se retrouvera | Hélène Janson | TV film | |
| 2016 | Mystère à l'Opéra | Éva Fontaine | TV film | |
| 2018 | Access | Valérie Couderq | Frédéric Scotlande | TV series (Episodes 1–6, 8–12) |
| 2019 | Je ne rêve que de vous | Cora Madou | ||
| 2020 | Coup de foudre à Bangkok | Sandrine Lafore | TV film | |
| 2021 | Le Chemin du bonheur | Sarah Glücksmann | ||
| 2023 | Daron | Coco | TV series | |