Billur Kalkavan (2 November 1962 – 15 October 2022) was a Turkish actress and television presenter.

Life and career

Billur Kalkavan was born on 2 November 1962 in the

Beylerbeyi Beylerbeyi is a neighborhood in the Üsküdar municipality of Istanbul, Turkey. It is located on the Asian shore of the Bosporus, to the north of the Bosphorus Bridge. It is bordered on the northeast by the neighborhood of Çengelköy, on the eas ...

neighborhood of

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. Her mother was Nuyan Kalkavan, and her father was shipowner Nazım Kalkavan. Her mother Nuyan was a granddaughter of , a son of the 31st Ottoman sultan

Abdulmejid I Abdulmejid I ( ota, عبد المجيد اول, ʿAbdü'l-Mecîd-i evvel, tr, I. Abdülmecid; 25 April 182325 June 1861) was the 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and succeeded his father Mahmud II on 2 July 1839. His reign was notable for the ...

. Kalkavan's first cinematic experience was when she was just a seven-year-old girl, playing the role of a child kidnapped for ransom by the villain played by

Erol Taş Erol Taş (28 February 1928 – 8 November 1998) was a Turkish film actor. He appeared in 220 films between 1957 and 1998. He starred in the 1964 film '' Susuz Yaz'', which won the Golden Bear at the 14th Berlin International Film Festival. ...

in the film '' Ayrı Dünyalar'' (1969). Kalkavan started secondary school in the USA, then returned to Turkey and studied at Kadıköy Maarif College. She then dropped out of high school and worked in various jobs since the age of 16. In 1978, she starred in the movie ''

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

'', directed by

Kartal Tibet Kartal Tibet (27 March 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Turkish actor and film director. Some of his famous films include ''Ölmeyen Aşk'', ''Dağlar Kızı'', ''Senede Bir Gün'', ''Sultan'', ''Zübük'', ''Gol Kralı'', and '' Şalvar Davası''. T ...

. She then worked as a secretary at '' Güneş'' newspaper for a while. She went back to the United States after the newspaper was sold in 1984 and completed her education by taking the high school graduation exams there. She took psychology classes at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. She returned to Turkey after living in the USA for four years. Kalkavan was a presenter on

TRT The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT; Turkish : ) is the national public broadcaster of Turkey, founded in 1964. TRT was for many years the only television and radio provider in Turkey. Before the introduction of commercial radio i ...

, acted in television series and became a known figure on Turkish television. She further rose to prominence with her night life and love affairs. She was particularly known for speaking openly about her sexuality, due to which she was described as a "marginal" personality. She was also known for her appearance and the tattoos on her right shoulder, which she had done in Sweden in 1980. In 1994, she took part in the music video for the song "Deli Et Beni" by singer . This video turned

lesbianism A lesbian is a homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with fema ...

to be a topic in the mainstream media, both because of the lyrics of the song and the dance performed by Billur Kalkavan and

Yeşim Salkım Yeşim Salkım (born 12 April 1968) is a Turkish singer and actress. Her paternal family is of Albanian descent. Discography ;Albums * ''Hiç Keyfim Yok'' (1994) * ''Ferman'' (1995) * ''Yoktan Geliyorum'' (1997) * ''Hep Böyle Kal'' (2000) * ' ...

. Kalkavan first appeared on stage in 1996 with a role in Tiyatro Çisenti's play ''Açık Evlilik''. As a shareholder at Tiyatro Çisenti, she also took part in the musical ''Bir İstanbul Masalı'', and in the play ''Dilekçe''. In 2000, she played a

stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a bachelor party or other private event. M ...

in the theater play ''Marion and Muhammed'', staged by the New Theatre in Istanbul. The

striptease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "ex ...

scene in the play caused a sensation at the time. Beginning in the 1990s, she appeared in the movies ''

Mavi Sürgün Mavi may refer to: People * Mavi (rapper) (Omavi Minder, born 1999), an American rapper *Shivam Mavi Shivam Mavi (born 26 November 1998) is an Indian international cricketer, who is a right-arm fast-medium bowler. He made his international debu ...

'', ''Gece Otostopçusu'', ''Ölüm Peşimizde'', '' Kraliçe Fabrika'da'', ''Mezuniyet'', ''Çarşı Pazar'', and ''Canavar Gibi: Türk İşi Frankeştayn''. She also appeared in the TV series ''Tatlı Kaçıklar'', ''Böyle mi Olacaktı'', and ''Eyvah Babam''. Kalkavan came to the fore again with her nude poses for a series in 2008. In 2012, she presented a talk show about sexual life on the television channel HTV, which broadcasts health-related programs.

Death

Kalkavan died on 15 October 2022 at a hospital in Istanbul where she was undergoing treatment for

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

. Following a funeral service on 17 October, she was buried at

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery __NOTOC__ The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery ( tr, Zincirlikuyu Mezarlığı) is a modern burial ground residing on the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of polit ...

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalkavan, Billur 1962 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Turkish actresses 21st-century Turkish actresses Actresses from Istanbul Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery Deaths from lung cancer in Turkey Kadıköy Anadolu Lisesi alumni Ottoman dynasty Turkish film actresses Turkish television actresses Turkish stage actresses Turkish women television presenters