Mathilda May (born Karin Haïm;[2] 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, playwright,[3] screenwriter, and actor Victor Haïm, is of Sephardic Jewish (Greek and Turkish) descent.

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.