Marie-José Benhalassa (22 April 1940 – 10 October 2019), known professionally as Marie-José Nat, was a French actress. In 1974, she received a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film Violins at the Ball.

Spouses

Children - 3 sons

Early life and family

Marie-José Benhalassa was born in Bonifacio, Corse-du-Sud, to a Kabyle father and a Corsican mother.

She was married to film director Michel Drach, and starred in his 1961 film Amelie or The Time to Love, his 1970 film Elise, or Real Life and his 1974 film Les violons du bal, concerning his childhood experiences during World War II. She was also known for Train of Life (1998), Litan (1982) and The Dacians (1966). Among her notable works in cinema were the sequel films Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Jean-Marc and Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Françoise (1963), directed by André Cayatte.

Awards

She was awarded Best Actress at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival for her performance in Les Violons du bal, and the film was nominated for the Golden Palm award.

Selected filmography

• Women's Club (1956)
• Rue des prairies (1959)
• The Truth (1960)
• La Menace [fr] (1961)
• Amelie or The Time to Love (1961)
• L'Éducation sentimentale [fr] (1962)
• Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Jean-Marc (1964)
• Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Françoise (1964)
• A Woman in White (1965)
• Dacii (1966)
• Diamond Safari (1966)
• Le Paria (1969)
• Elise, or Real Life (1970)
• L'Opium et le Bâton (1971)
• Embassy (1972)
• Violins at the Ball (1974)
• Dis-moi que tu m'aimes (1974)
• The Simple Past (1977)
• La disubbidienza (1981)
• Litan (1982)
• Train of Life (1998)
• Colette, une femme libre (2004)