# Mathilda May
**Mathilda May** (born Karima Mathilda Haïm, 1965, Paris) is a French actress, dancer, singer, and stage director who won the César for most promising actress in 1988 for Claude Chabrol's *Le Cri du hibou* and is known to English-speaking audiences for playing the alien vampire Space Girl in *Lifeforce* (1985).[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-7144/biographie/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000528/) Since the 2010s her main work has been as author, director, and composer of wordless musical theater.[3](https://les2bureaux.fr/mathilda-may/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth name and birth | Karima Mathilda Haïm, born in Paris, France, 1965[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-7144/biographie/) |
| Signature screen roles | Space Girl, the alien vampire of *Lifeforce* (1985); Juliette, the suicidal young woman at the center of *Le Cri du hibou* (1987)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000528/) |
| Main award | César du Meilleur espoir féminin, 1988 ceremony, for *Le Cri du hibou*; Prix Romy Schneider the following year[4](https://www.academie-cinema.org/evenements/ceremonie-des-cesar-1988/) • [1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-7144/biographie/) |
| Screen output | 48 films and series counted by AlloCiné, with 2 awards and 2 nominations[5](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne_gen_cpersonne%3D7144.html) |
| Theater career | Author and director of Open Space (2013), Le Banquet (2018), Monsieur X (2019), Échos (2021), Make Up (2022), and CUT ! (2025)[3](https://les2bureaux.fr/mathilda-may/) |
| Molières | Two in 2019 for Le Banquet (public theater direction and female revelation); Molière for best one-person show in 2020 for Monsieur X[3](https://les2bureaux.fr/mathilda-may/) |
| Writing | Novel *Personne ne le saura* (Flammarion, 2008); autobiographical narrative *V.O.* (Plon, 2018)[6](https://www.lavillette.com/itw-mathilda-may-cut/) |
| State honor | Named Officière des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture in early 2024[3](https://les2bureaux.fr/mathilda-may/) |
## Early life and dance training
May is the daughter of the playwright Victor Haïm and of a dance teacher who had been a prima ballerina with the Malmö ballet in Sweden.[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-7144/biographie/) • [7](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/-/00/00000020365) She followed her mother's path into classical dance from childhood and in 1983 won the Premier Prix of the Conservatoire National de Paris.[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-7144/biographie/) She has described her days as a schoolgirl split between conservatory classes in the morning, school in the afternoon, and dance again in the evenings and weekends.[8](https://unartistealecole.fr/artiste/mathilda-may-2/)
The agent Myriam Bru, wife of the actor [Horst Buchholz](https://www.edgepedia.org/horst-buchholz), spotted her and steered her toward acting; Bru remained her agent and suggested the stage name "May".[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-7144/biographie/) • [7](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/-/00/00000020365) In interviews she has said that a three-month film shoot interrupted her dance training, cost her part of her technique, and made her realize that the dream of becoming a dancer was her mother's rather than her own; she turned instead to acting, a world where speech mattered.[8](https://unartistealecole.fr/artiste/mathilda-may-2/)
## Film career
Her first screen role, at age 18, was a princess in *Nemo* (1984), Arnaud Sélignac's adaptation of the Winsor McCay comic strip.[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-7144/biographie/) • [9](https://www.mesdames.media/videos/mathilda-may-tes-pas-a-labri-de-surprises) She then took the female lead in *Lifeforce* (1985), [Tobe Hooper](https://www.edgepedia.org/tobe-hooper)'s cult horror film, as the alien vampire Space Girl, the role for which English-speaking audiences know her best.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000528/) • [10](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/mathilda_may) French comedies such as *Les Rois du gag* followed, before Claude Chabrol cast her as the heroine of *Le Cri du hibou* (1987), the psychological thriller in which she played Juliette, a suicidal young woman at the center of the story; the performance brought her the César du Meilleur espoir féminin at the 1988 ceremony.[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-7144/biographie/) • [4](https://www.academie-cinema.org/evenements/ceremonie-des-cesar-1988/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000528/)
**A diverse 1990s.** After winning the Prix Romy Schneider the year after her César, she worked with [Jacques Demy](https://www.edgepedia.org/jacques-demy) in *Trois places pour le 26*, singing and dancing opposite [Yves Montand](https://www.edgepedia.org/yves-montand), and with Michel Deville in *Toutes peines confondues* (1992).[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-7144/biographie/) • [6](https://www.lavillette.com/itw-mathilda-may-cut/) Bigas Luna cast her in *La Lune et le Téton* (1994) alongside Gérard Darmon, then her companion, and she took atypical projects filmed in Algeria (*Isabelle Eberhardt*) and [Patagonia](https://www.edgepedia.org/patagonia) (*Le Cri de la roche*, Werner Herzog's *Cerro Torre*).[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-7144/biographie/) • [10](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/mathilda_may) In 1995 she provided the French voice of Pocahontas for the Disney film.[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-7144/biographie/)
After playing opposite [Bruce Willis](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruce-willis) in *Le Chacal* (1997), French directors offered her little work for several years, until Chabrol called her back for *La Fille coupée en deux* (2007), twenty years after their first collaboration.[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-7144/biographie/)
## Television work
Her television credits include *Le Secret du Sahara* (1987), *Perlasca* (2002), *On se retrouvera* (2015), an episode of *Crossing Lines* season 2, and the series *Access* (2018), in which she played the unscrupulous television producer Valérie Couderq.[11](https://www.agencesartistiques.com/Fiche-Artiste/720009-mathilda-may.html?lng=fr) • [1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-7144/biographie/) Later screen appearances include *Le Chemin du bonheur* (2021) and *La belle et le boulanger* (2026).[12](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-7144/filmographie/)
## Music and writing
May recorded an album for Sony in 1992, working with English and American composers, and it was nominated at the Victoires de la musique; in 1997 she composed the music for the play *Le Roman de Lulu*.[6](https://www.lavillette.com/itw-mathilda-may-cut/) She has also written: the novel *Personne ne le saura* appeared at Flammarion in 2008, and the autobiographical narrative *V.O.* at Plon in 2018.[6](https://www.lavillette.com/itw-mathilda-may-cut/) • [3](https://les2bureaux.fr/mathilda-may/)
## Stage direction
Her directing career began with *Plus si affinités*, co-written and performed with Pascal Légitimus from 2008 to 2011 on tour in France, Switzerland, and Belgium.[6](https://www.lavillette.com/itw-mathilda-may-cut/) In 2013 she created *Open Space*, her first solo creation as author, director, and composer, staged at the Théâtre Jean Vilar in Suresnes: a wordless comedy in which everyday office life becomes a rhythmic and musical machine, with each gesture and sound of the workday turned into comic material.[13](https://www.lemonde.fr/scenes/article/2013/10/16/la-petite-entreprise-de-mathilda-may_6002652_1654999.html) • [3](https://les2bureaux.fr/mathilda-may/)
**Recognition in theater.** Her second show, *Le Banquet* (2018), a wordless choreography of a wedding that goes wrong, opened the season at the Théâtre du Rond-Point and won two Molières in 2019, for direction of a public theater production and for female revelation (Ariane Mourier).[3](https://les2bureaux.fr/mathilda-may/) • [6](https://www.lavillette.com/itw-mathilda-may-cut/) At the same time she created *Monsieur X*, which she wrote and directed for Pierre Richard at the Théâtre de l'Atelier with original music by [Ibrahim Maalouf](https://www.edgepedia.org/ibrahim-maalouf); it won the Molière for best one-person show in 2020, and she also received the SACD prize for direction.[3](https://les2bureaux.fr/mathilda-may/) • [6](https://www.lavillette.com/itw-mathilda-may-cut/)
She continued with *Échos* (2021), created at the Grrranit, scène nationale de Belfort, with the beatboxer Sly Johnson, and *Make Up* (2022), her fifth show, presented at the Théâtre Marigny in Paris before a national tour; it observes a film shoot seen only from the makeup trailer.[3](https://les2bureaux.fr/mathilda-may/) • [14](https://www.theatreonline.com/Artiste/Mathilda-May/38133) In early 2024 the Ministry of Culture named her Officière des Arts et des Lettres.[3](https://les2bureaux.fr/mathilda-may/)
*CUT ! Des histoires, des vies…*, her sixth creation, premiered on 30 September 2025 at the Théâtre des 2 Rives in Charenton-le-Pont, played at La Scala Provence at the 2026 Festival d'Avignon, and was scheduled for La Scala Paris in November 2026.[15](https://www.compagniedes2m.com/creations/cut) Unlike her earlier spectacles, it contains spoken text: a rapid succession of some 28 short contemporary situations, interspersed with sound-designed blackouts, performed by six actors; she has described it as a theatrical and musical "scrolling" born of the accelerated way digital media now shape how the world is seen.[15](https://www.compagniedes2m.com/creations/cut) • [6](https://www.lavillette.com/itw-mathilda-may-cut/)
## Honors
- César du Meilleur espoir féminin, 1988, for *Le Cri du hibou*[4](https://www.academie-cinema.org/evenements/ceremonie-des-cesar-1988/)
- Prix Romy Schneider, 1989[1](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-7144/biographie/)
- Two Molières, 2019, for *Le Banquet*; Molière for best one-person show, 2020, for *Monsieur X*; SACD direction prize[3](https://les2bureaux.fr/mathilda-may/) • [6](https://www.lavillette.com/itw-mathilda-may-cut/)
- Officière des Arts et des Lettres, 2024[3](https://les2bureaux.fr/mathilda-may/)
## References
1. [Mathilda May : Sa biographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-7144/biographie/)
2. [Mathilda May, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000528/)
3. [Mathilda May, Les 2 Bureaux](https://les2bureaux.fr/mathilda-may/)
4. [La Cérémonie des César 1988, Académie des César](https://www.academie-cinema.org/evenements/ceremonie-des-cesar-1988/)
5. [Mathilda May, AlloCiné fiche personne](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne_gen_cpersonne%3D7144.html)
6. [Entretien avec Mathilda May, La Villette](https://www.lavillette.com/itw-mathilda-may-cut/)
7. [Mathilda May, Munzinger Biographie](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/-/00/00000020365)
8. [Mathilda May, Un Artiste à l'École](https://unartistealecole.fr/artiste/mathilda-may-2/)
9. [Mathilda May : "T'es pas à l'abri de surprises !", Mesdames Média](https://www.mesdames.media/videos/mathilda-may-tes-pas-a-labri-de-surprises)
10. [Mathilda May Movies List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/mathilda_may)
11. [Mathilda MAY, AgencesArtistiques.com](https://www.agencesartistiques.com/Fiche-Artiste/720009-mathilda-may.html?lng=fr)
12. [Mathilda May : Filmographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-7144/filmographie/)
13. [La petite entreprise de Mathilda May, Le Monde (2013)](https://www.lemonde.fr/scenes/article/2013/10/16/la-petite-entreprise-de-mathilda-may_6002652_1654999.html)
14. [Mathilda May, THEATREonline](https://www.theatreonline.com/Artiste/Mathilda-May/38133)
15. [CUT ! — Mathilda May, Compagnie des 2M](https://www.compagniedes2m.com/creations/cut)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › French actors › Surnames E to M*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license