Meral Çetinkaya

Meral Çetinkaya — Biography

Born on 5 March 1945 in Bursa, Meral Onuktav Çetinkaya trained briefly in ballet after middle school, finished at the American Girls' College and then studied art history in the United States on a scholarship. Back home she entered theatre by translating for a visiting director, and from 1969 appeared in many productions at Dostlar Tiyatrosu before moving to the Bakırköy Municipal Theatres. Her early film work included the 1979 drama Hazal, later honoured with a Best Supporting Actress prize at the Golden Orange festival, and she debuted on television in 1986 with Sızı before becoming widely known as Ayla Hanım in Bizimkiler (1989-2002). She married actor Yavuzer Çetinkaya in 1992 and lost him that same year to a heart attack; her performance in Suyun Öte Yanı won Best Actress at the Ankara Film Festival, and in 1996 she took a second Golden Orange for Solgun Bir Sarı Gül. She continued in films such as Vizontele, Karanlıktakiler, Ayla and Sibel and series including Binbir Gece, Öyle Bir Geçer Zaman ki, İstanbullu Gelin and Aziz, returning to the stage for a 2007 production of Beckett's Endgame with Genco Erkal that earned the Vasıf Öngören Award, and received the Cinema Honour Award at the 2022 Istanbul Film Festival.