Background and career
Mathilda May (born Karin Haïm; 8 February 1965) is a French film actress and director. Her best-known roles include Space Girl in Lifeforce (1985) and Jeanne Gardella in Toutes peines confondues (1992). 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 for her role in Le Cri du Hibou (The Cry of the Owl) and the Romy Schneider Prize for best up and coming actress in 1989. In 1992, she also recorded an album called Joy of Love. May was the writer and director for the theater show Open Space, which ran from 2013 to 2015.
May was born in Paris, France on February 8, 1965. Her father, the 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. May studied under Christiane Vaussard at the Conservatoire de Paris, graduating at age 16.
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 Tobe Hooper science fiction horror film Lifeforce (1985), in which she is nude for much of her performance. May was 18 during production, and the extensive nudity required for the role presented difficulties during filming. 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 "[i]t will be choreographed without it being dance, and musical without an instrument".
May has been married four times. Her first husband was Paul Powell. Her second husband was Gérard Darmon, with whom she has two children, a daughter and a son. Her third husband was Philippe Kelly. Her fourth husband was Sly Johnson.
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
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
