Ayça Varlıer
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Ayça Elif Varlıer (born 7 May 1977) is a Turkish actress, singer, composer and TV presenter. Born in 1977 in Ankara, while she was going to high school she moved to the United States and finished her education there. She later graduated from
University of Hartford Hartt School The Hartt School is the performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford, a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1920 by Julius Hartt and Moshe Paranov, Hartt has been part of the University of Hartford since it ...
. She worked in a number of plays during her time in the US and returned to Turkey in 2000. In 2004, she got her first television role in ''Karım ve Annem''. Her breakthrough came in 2005 with her role in '' Gümüş''. In 2007, she got a leading role in the play ''Hisseli Harikalar Kumpanyası''. She had her first leading role on TV in ''Son Bahar'' (2008). In 2010, for her role in the musical ''Leyla'nın Evi'' she won an Afife Theater Award, a Sadri Alışık Award and a Vasfi Rıza Zobu Theater Award. In 2013, her first studio album ''Elif'' was released. In the following years she got main roles in the movies ''Taş Mektep'' (2013), ''Günce'' (2013), ''Olur Olur'' (2014) and ''Mavi Gece'' (2015). In 2015, for her performance in the play ''Fosforlu'nun Hikayesi'' she won another Sadri Alışık Award. As of 2017, Varlıer stars in the TV series ''Kalk Gidelim''.


Early life and education

Varlıer was born on 7 May 1977 in
Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
as the second daughter of ballerina Duygu Varlıer and economist Oktay Varlıer. She has an older sister named Aslı. While at the second year of high school, she went to
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
as part of a student exchange program. After graduating from high school, she studied musical theater at
University of Hartford Hartt School The Hartt School is the performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford, a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1920 by Julius Hartt and Moshe Paranov, Hartt has been part of the University of Hartford since it ...
. Later she participated in a mutual program between
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
and
Moscow Art Theatre School Moscow Art Theatre School () is the studio school of the Moscow Chekhov Art Theatre. It is a state educational institution that has existed since 1943. The initiator of the studio school was Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko.Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
.


Career


1998–2004: Early works

By the end of her studies, she was chosen by
The Acting Company The Acting Company is a professional theater company that tours the United States annually, staging and performing one or two plays in as many as fifty cities, often with runs of only one or two nights. Drama critic Mel Gussow has called it "the m ...
to work in a number of theater plays. '' Spring Awakening'', ''Cher Molière'', ''
Man of La Mancha ''Man of La Mancha'' is a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay '' I, Don Quixote'', which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervan ...
'', ''Carnival'', ''
Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Run ...
'', '' Working'', ''42nd St.'', '' Henry IV'', ''Battleship Potemkin'' and ''Virgin Trunk'' were among the musicals and plays in which she played a role. After
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
her visa was not renewed and she returned to Turkey. Following her return, she accompanied pianist
Fahir Atakoğlu Mustafa Fahir Atakoğlu (, born 28 January 1963) is a Turkish American pianist and composer who has worked with a wide range of artists across many genres of music, ranging in style from symphonic scoring to advertising jingles. He was born in I ...
as a soloist. In 2004, she made her television debut with
Kanal D Kanal D (English: Channel D) is a nationwide television channel in Turkey that is part of Demirören Group. It was founded by Ayhan Şahenk and Aydın Doğan in 1993. The network has also run an international channel, Euro D, since 1996, whic ...
's series ''Karım ve Annem'' as Doctor Buket.


2005–2010: Rise to fame and first leading roles

From January 2005 to June 2007 she portrayed the character of Pınar in Kanal D's series '' Gümüş''. Due to the series popularity in the
Arab World The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...
, she became a familiar name in the households. On 15 February 2005, she had portrayed the character of Anita in
Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...
's musical ''
West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...
'', which was directed by Altan Günbay. In 2005, she portrayed Cinderella in an episode of ''
Anlat İstanbul ''Istanbul Tales'' () is a 2005 Turkish drama-anthology film, directed by Selim Demirdelen, Kudret Sabancı, Ümit Ünal, Yücel Yolcu and Ömür Atay, which tells five interconnected stories set in modern-day Istanbul based on the fairytales ''S ...
'' and also starred as Evrim in the movie ''O Şimdi Mahkum''. In 2007, she portrayed Burcu in Turkmax's TV film ''Havva Durumu''. She appeared on stage on 26 June 2007 in
Haldun Dormen Ahmet Haldun Dormen (born 5 April 1928) is a Turkish theater, movie and TV series actor and film director. Dormen is of Turkish Cypriot descent. Biography His father Sait Ömer Bey was a Cypriot businessman, while his mother Nimet Rüştü ...
's musical ''Hisseli Harikalar Kumpanyası'' and played the character of Süheyla. On 13 August 2007, she appeared on stage again at
Cemil Topuzlu Open-Air Theatre The Cemil Topuzlu Open-Air Theatre (, also called simply ''Açıkhava Tiyatrosu'') is a contemporary amphitheatre located at Harbiye neighborhood of Şişli district in Istanbul, Turkey. It is situated across from the Istanbul Lütfi Kırdar C ...
in the
rock musical A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concep ...
''Rock Müzikaller''. In 2008, she portrayed the character of Doctor Neşe in the second season of
Show TV Show TV is a Turkish free-to-air national television channel, established in 1991 by Erol Aksoy, Dinç Bilgin, Haldun Simavi and Erol Simavi, owned by the Can Holding. History The channel replaces Cine5's now-defunct frequencies, and it was ...
's ''Kurtlar Vadisi Pusu''; during the same period, from March to June 2008, she played as Gizem in
ATV ATV may refer to: Broadcasting * Amateur television *Analog television Television broadcaster * Andorra Televisió * Anguilla Television * Ayna TV, Afghanistan * ATV (Armenia) * ATV (Aruba), NBC affiliate * ATV (Australian TV station), Melbourn ...
's series ''Limon Ağacı''. In August 2008, together with her family she found the WAMP management, organization and designing company. In September 2008, she got her first leading role in TV as Sabiha Yılmaz in Star TV's ''Son Bahar''. She played opposite
Erkan Petekkaya Erkan Petekkaya (; born 11 December 1971) is a Turkish actor. He has starred in several television drama series including ''Beyaz Gelincik'' ("White Poppies") (2005–07), ''Sessiz Fırtına'' ("Silent Storm") (2007–08) '' Öyle Bir Geçer Za ...
and the series finished in October 2008. From 2009 to 2010, she portrayed the character of Doctor Hayat in a number of episodes of
Kanal D Kanal D (English: Channel D) is a nationwide television channel in Turkey that is part of Demirören Group. It was founded by Ayhan Şahenk and Aydın Doğan in 1993. The network has also run an international channel, Euro D, since 1996, whic ...
's ''
Geniş Aile ''Geniş Aile'' (in English: ''The Large Family'') is a Turkish comedy television series on Kanal D, which initially broadcast in 2009. Season Finale on 15 June 2010 and was run 49 episodes - 1 season. Season 2 premiere aired on 10 August 2010. Al ...
''. On 24 March 2010, she portrayed the character of an ill person with MS in Haldun Durmen's play ''Sil Baştan''.


2010–2014: First studio album

On 6 May 2010, she started appearing on stage at Tiyatrokare as Roxy in the musical ''Leyla'nın Evi'', based on
Zülfü Livaneli Ömer Zülfü Livanelioğlu (born 20 June 1946), better known as Zülfü Livaneli, is a Turkish musician, author, poet, and politician. Livaneli was imprisoned several times during the 1971 Turkish military memorandum for his political views, ...
's novel of the same name and directed by Nedim Saban. For her performance in this musical; on 21 March 2011, she won the Best Comedy and Musical Actress award at the 15th Afife Theater Awards. On 25 April 2011, she won the Best Actress award at the 16th Sadri Alışık Award, followed by another award at the Vasfı Rıza Zobu Theater Awards ceremony. She later got a role in Engin Alkan's musical ''Hekate'nin Şarkısı'', which was organized by
Istanbul City Theatres Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality City Theatre ( Turkish: ''Istanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi Şehir Tiyatroları''; Ottoman Turkish: Darülbedayi) The theater was founded in 1934 in the Ottoman Empire period (1914) as Dârülbedayi. It was a t ...
and first went on stage on 10 May 2010 at the 17th International Istanbul Theater Festival. She later recorded the song "Bir Zaman Hatası" for Emir Ersoy & Projecto Cubano's compilation album ''Yaşama Bir Şans Ver'', which was released by Soulfulworks Records on 6 August 2010. From 2010 to 2011, she portrayed the character of Bahar in a number of episodes of Star TV's '' Behzat Ç. Bir Ankara Polisiyesi''. From January to April 2012, she played opposite Bülent Emin Yarar as Buket in Star TV's series ''Kalbim 4 Mevsim''. She later recorded the song "Sil Baştan" for Emir Ersoy & Projecto Cubano's new compilation album ''Karnaval'' which was released by TMC on 12 May 2012. On 6 February 2013, her first studio album ''Elif'' was released by TMC. The album contained 8 songs, 5 of which were composed by herself. From February to April 2014 she portrayed the character of Yıldız Gökçener in Kanal D's ''Zeytin Tepesi''. At the same year, she starred as Azra in Kerem Çakıroğlu's movie ''Olur Olur!''. The following year, he played the role of Doctor Emel in Ahmet Hoşsöyler's ''Mavi Gece'', a fantasy comedy movie in which she starred opposite
Fırat Tanış Fırat Tanış (born 5 May 1975) is a Turkish actor and musician. He has appeared in more than thirty films since 1995. He is of Turkish Meskhetian ancestry. He played as Koyu Bilal in franchise comedy film series and TV series "Geniş Aile". T ...
. In 2015, she participated in a project for Hope Foundation for Children with Cancer and read Emre Kalcı's poet "Anlama Hâli" on the song "Zamansız", which was performed by
Işın Karaca Işın Funda Büyükkaraca (born 7 March 1973), better known as Işın Karaca (), is a British-born Turkish Cypriot pop singer. Personal life Işın Funda Büyükkaraca was born into a Turkish Cypriot family which had emigrated to the United K ...
and included in the album ''Emre Kalcı Şiirleriyle... Aşkın On Hâli''. It was released by DMC on 2 June 2015.


2015–present

In 2015, she portrayed the character of Fosforlu Cevriye in the musical ''Fosforlu'nun Hikayesi'', based on
Suat Derviş Suat Derviş (1905–1972) was a Turkish novelist, journalist, and political activist, who was among the founders of the Socialist Women’s Association in 1970. Family and early career Suat Derviş was born in 1905 in Istanbul into an aristocra ...
's novel ''Fosforlu Cevriye'' and directed by Serkan Üstüner. It was organized by Tuncer Cücenoğlu and went on stage at Tiyatrokare on 12 September 2015. For her performance, she won the Best Comedy and Musical Actress at the 21st Sadri Alışık Theater and Cinema Awards on 2 May 2016. From March to June 2016, she starred as Leyla Bozoğlu in ATV's series ''Kehribar''. At the same year, she appeared as Ayla Öker in one episode of ''
Mordkommission Istanbul ''Mordkommission Istanbul'' (''Istanbul Homicide Unit'') is a German television series. Plot Istanbul police inspector Mehmet Özakin is in charge of murder investigations, mostly in the Turkish city. A very modern Turk, he uses up to date Wes ...
'', which aired on
Das Erste Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD (broadcaster), ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the ARD (broadcaster)#Institutions and member org ...
in Germany. On
Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...
2017, she released a music video for her song "Hoşçakal" on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
, which was written by herself. She later made a guest appearance in Kanal D's ''Hayat Şarkısı'' as the character Mahsa. On 24 April 2017, she presented the 21st Afife Theater Awards at Haliç Congress Center. Since November 2017, she has been starring in
TRT 1 TRT 1 (''TRT One'') is the first Turkish national television channel, owned by state broadcaster TRT. It was officially launched on 31 January 1968 as a test broadcast, becoming regular by the early 1970s. It was the only channel Turkey until 15 ...
's series ''Kalk Gidelim'' as Nurcan Dal. She also appeared as Zühre, in the musical ''Tahir ile Zühre'', which was directed by Onur Turan and written by Şefik Onat. The show first went on stage on 19 December 2017.


Personal life

She has an older sister named Aslı Varlıer Pelit. Varlıer lives with her family in a villa in
Beykoz Beykoz () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 310 km2, and its population is 247,875 (2022). It lies at the northern end of the Bosphorus on the Anatolian side. The name i ...
,
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
.


Theater


Filmography


Discography

;Studio album * ''Elif'' (2013, TMC) ;Single * "Hoşçakal" (2017) ;As featured artist * ''Yaşama Bir Şans Ver'' (2010, Emir Ersoy & Projecto Cubano, Soulfulworks Records) * ''Karnaval'' (2012, Emir Ersoy & Projecto Cubano, TMC) * ''Emre Kalcı Şiirleriyle... Aşkın On Hâli'' (2015, DMC)


References


External links


WAMP official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Varlier, Ayca 1977 births Living people Actresses from Ankara Turkish film actresses Turkish television actresses 21st-century Turkish actresses Turkish stage actresses