Nejla Ateş (March 7, 1932 - died in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

on September 19, 1995) was a Turkish

belly dancer Belly dance (Egyptian Arabic: رقص بلدي, translated: Dance of the Country/Folk Dance, romanized: Raks/Raas Baladi) is a dance that originates in Egypt. It features movements of the hips and torso. It has evolved to take many different f ...

and actress, born in Constanța,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. Born as Naciye Batır, she achieved fame under the stage name Nejla Ateş in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

and as Nejla Ates in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. She was also known as ''Turkish Delight''. Notably, she appeared in the films ''

King Richard and the Crusaders ''King Richard and the Crusaders'' is a 1954 American historical drama film made by Warner Bros. The film stars Rex Harrison, Virginia Mayo, George Sanders and Laurence Harvey, with Robert Douglas, Michael Pate and Paula Raymond. It was direct ...

'' and ''

Son of Sinbad ''Son of Sinbad'' is a 1955 American adventure film directed by Ted Tetzlaff. It takes place in the Middle East and consists of a wide variety of characters, including over 127 women. The film was shot in 1953 and planned to be released in 3 ...

'' and '' Fanny'', a Broadway musical. A naked statue of her was erected in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

in November 1954. Ates had a number of scandal sheet-moments, including a running feud with Burlesque queen Rose la Rose, who claimed Ates stole her best belly dancing moves from Rose's act. Ates, despite her success and beauty, fell into poverty and twice attempted suicide. Her first suicide attempt via an overdose of tranquilizers and aspirin followed an argument with her then lover, singer Bobby Colt. Ates was named as correspondent in his divorce by Colt's wife Hope Diamond. Ates spoke publicly about her depression thus: "I'm fed up with life... with love... with everything." Her second suicide attempt with an overdose of barbiturates left her in a temporary coma. She also suffered a series of injuries, including a slipped disc, apparently related to her dancing. Scandal sheets reported that after she left America to return to Turkey, the once delicate 4'11' tall 98 lb brunette dancer had become a 200 lb blonde. She died in an Istanbul hospital on September 19, 1995.

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