Deniz Türkali is an experienced actress and screenwriter who has made many contributions to Turkish cinema. Türkali currently gives acting and specking lectures and plays for DOT Tiyatro and 2. Kat Tiyatro. She is now editing her book “Dishes of My Life” and Murat Çelikkan has written the story of her life. A series of talks which are now in the process of preparation will also be available shortly.

She also has two scripts, namely “Mine” and “The Petit Sparrow”. Türkali has a special place in her life for cinema. Türkali, married to director Atıf Yılmaz for the second time, was born to a family of art and literature. Her father, well-known author Vedat Türkali, played a significant role on her cultural and political approach.

Her life was filled with cinema and her days at Nişantaşı High School can be considered as a turning point. She started acting in those days and studied acting at the Conservatory just after she was graduated from Şişli College. After two years in Turkey, she continued her education in London. She worked with Dario Fo and Franca Rame in Italy. While engaged in music, she was also an editorial consultant for Milliyet Publishing. In 1980, she returned to acting. She continued music too. Her passion in music helped Türkali achieve success in solo plays. She hosted radio shows, wrote columns, played in cinema and TV movies and wrote scripts. She was a journalist for “Kaktüs” magazine, daily Milliyet and Hayat magazine. She write articles on various issues for Milliyet, Hürriyet and Radikal newspapers. She played Prudence Duvernoy in The Lady of the Camellias. She was also engaged in business and managed 5. Kat Restaurant and Leyla Café.

Who is Deniz Türkali? 

Deniz Türkali, born in Istanbul in 1944, studied at Nişantaşı High School and Şişli College. She attended the conservatory in London. She wrote articles on social and political issues as well as pieces on the cinema of European Union countries in “Kriter” magazine. She recorded an album named “Şehvet” and played in many cinema movies and TV shows including Galip Derviş, Hürrem Sultan, Gece Melek ve Bizim Çocuklar, Eylül Fırtınası and Dudaktan Kalbe. Deniz Türkali was interested not only in cinema but also music. Her first marriage was with the Italian singer Ernesto Casalini and her daughter Zeynep Casalini is also an artist. Deniz Türkali spent almost half of her life with Atıf Yılmaz. This marriage continued until Yılmaz’s death.