Film star dies aged 57 after being found unconscious in swimming pool

BREAKING

Farès is best known for starring in the psychological thriller The Crimson Rivers, as well as the French adaptation of the British series Luther.

The actress leaves behind two daughters, who announced her death on Friday (April 17).

They said their mother had tragically drowned at a luxury sports club in Paris, adding: “It is with immense sadness that we announce the passing of Nadia Farès this Friday. France has lost a great artist, but for us, it is above all a mother we have just lost.”

The actress, who was born in Morocco, had been doing laps of the pool last weekend when she suddenly lost consciousness.

Just moments later, another swimmer rushed to help Farès and attempted to revive her with CPR. Nadia was later taken to Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital and placed in a medically induced coma, but she suffered a cardiac arrest and later died.

The actress had previously been struggling with health issues, which she spoke about candidly. Back in 2007, Nadia revealed that she had undergone brain surgery for an aneurysm in 2007 and had three heart operations within four years.

Nadia's family moved to France from Morocco in 1968 when she was just a child.

She secured her first television roles in the early 1990s before landing a part in the popular Elles n’oublient jamais (They Never Forget). In the thriller, Nadia plays a young mistress of a married man, who becomes convinced she is having an affair.

She later formed a partnership with director Bernie Bonvoisin, appearing in three of his films after starring in his 1997 comedy Les Démons de Jésus.

However, her most notable role came in Mathieu Kassovitz’s Les Rivières pourpres (The Crimson Rivers), where she starred alongside French icon Jean Reno. She played twin sisters Fanny Ferreira and Judith Hérault, and was praised for her captivating screen presence.

Nadia enjoyed a long career in TV and cinema, starring alongside Hollywood greats such as Mel Gibson, Jason Statham and Jet Li.

She also starred as Vanessa d’Abrantes in the Netflix series Marseille and made her final on-screen appearance in the 2025 film Toujours.

The actress also had plans to direct her first film later this year. She told Gala magazine back in January: "Through hard work, questioning and stubbornness, I found a great team, we are working together on an action comedy with Studios TF1."