French actor, from 1670 until his retirement in 1691 the undisputed master of the French stage.

The child of theatrical parents, he was orphaned at a young age and joined the company of children known as the Petits Comédiens du Dauphin. He joined Molière's company in 1670 and was treated like a son by the master. He later became a member of the company at the Hôtel de Bourgogne and subsequently of the newly formed Comédie-Française. He created many of the leading roles in Racine's tragedies, besides those in two of his own comedies, L'Homme à bonnes fortunes (1686; “The Philanderer”) and La Coquette et la fausse prude (1687; “The Flirt and the False Prude”). He retired in 1691 but in 1720 returned to the Comédie-Française.

His son Étienne-Michel Baron (1676–1711) was also an actor and left a son and two daughters, all of whom played at the Comédie-Française.