Marie Trintignant died tragically on the 1st of August, 2003 from a cerebral edema in Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris, France, following a violent fight with her boyfriend, Bertrand Cantat, lead singer in the French rock band, Noir Désir. She was just finishing filming a TV movie about Colette, directed by her mother.

Born into show business, she made her first screen appearance when she was just four-years-old but her breakthrough came in 1979 with the film "Série noire". In 1990, she had her first leading role in "Une nuit d'été en ville". Her second major role came in 1992 as "Betty", a bourgeois alcoholic. She also did theater work, notably "Le Retour", by Harold Pinter.

Her last film, Janis et John (2003), was completed three months before her death.