Deniz Akkaya

Deniz Akkaya — Biography

Turkish model Deniz Akkaya became known in the late 1990s when she was named Best Model of Turkey, and later moved into acting and television presenting. She was counted among the country's top-earning models in the early 2000s, and from 2006 she appeared on screen as host of Top Model Türkiye.

She comes from a Circassian family with roots in Kayseri. While studying American Language and Literature at Istanbul University she entered Elite Model Look in 1995, appeared in a song video in 1996 and won Best Model of Turkey in 1997; that year she also placed fourth at Miss Grace of the World. She walked for designers such as Yıldırım Mayruk, Atıl Kutoğlu and Uğurkan Erez, shared a runway with Carla Bruni at an Escada show in 1998 and appeared on magazine covers. In the 2000s she turned to acting, with parts in Yeşil Işık (2002), Vizontele Tuuba, Okul and Şarkılar Seni Söyler (2003), Metro Palas (2004), Ölümle Dans (2007) and Maskeli Beşler: Kıbrıs. After Top Model Türkiye she presented Pişşti, Başka Yerde Yok and Duymayan Kalmasın, and she launched the children's clothing label Chic Frog.