Monuments of French cinema, unforgettable actresses with an immense filmography… Nathalie Baye and Catherine Deneuve have a lot in common. But the seventh art is not the only element that brings them together, since they have both been in a relationship with the same man. The one who made their heart beat, first one then the other? Pierre Lescure, journalist and businessman, among others co-founder of the Canal+ channel and current president of the Cannes Film Festival, since 2014.
It is not surprising, therefore, that he crossed their paths at different times in his life. Married to Frédérique Fayles-Bernstein – Coluche’s last companion – since 1996, Pierre Lescure adopted a little girl with her. But he was first in a relationship with Hélène Vida, with the novelist Katherine Pancol, with Catherine Deneuve then with Nathalie Baye. His relationship with the latter was so discreet that they hardly mention it, one like the other. We only know that their love dates back to when he was CEO of Canal + and where Laura Smet’s mother came out of her romance with Johnny Hallyday.
The happiness I had is that I have rarely seen someone so grounded in life
As for Jacques Demy’s muse, on the other hand, Pierre Lescure finds it difficult to remain silent. And for good reason, the lovebirds shared eight years of common life, from 1983 to 1991, and it is impossible to forget such a part of history. This is why these two maintain very strong bonds. “The happiness I had – beyond rubbing shoulders with and living with this extraordinary actress, because she has one of the most extraordinary filmographies in the history of French cinema – is that I have rarely seen someone one so rooted in lifehe explained to Michel Denisot, on Europe 1, in the program Icons. To live with her for a week or a little more is to live with her whole family and everything in life that isn’t cinema…“