Çiğdem Selışık Onat (born 14 May 1939) is a Turkish actress.

Life and career

Selışık Onat was born 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 ( ...

in 1939. After finishing her studies at

Robert College The American Robert College of Istanbul ( or ), often abbreviated as Robert or RC, is a Selective school, highly selective, Independent school, independent, mixed-sex education, co-educational, Education in Turkey#Private schools, private Second ...

, she enrolled in

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

's School of Literature. While continuing with her studies, she became one of the founders of , a movement focused on bringing together young stage actors from different universities and schools across Turkey. She subsequently started working at Kenter Theatre and Ankara State Theatre. She got her master's degree from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. She continued her doctorate program on comparative drama studies at the same university. She continued her career in the United States by both appearing and staging a number of plays at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

and the

New York University Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

. In Turkey, she worked as a director at the Istanbul City Theatres. Her portrayal of Signora Fioria in the play ''

The Time of the Cuckoo ''The Time of the Cuckoo'' is a play by Arthur Laurents. It focuses on the bittersweet romance between Leona Samish ( Shirley Booth), a single American executive secretary vacationing in Europe and Renato Di Rossi, a shopkeeper she meets in Venic ...

'', which was staged at Lincoln Center, earned her a nomination for the

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play was an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre across collective Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. ...

in 2000. During her nearly forty-year career as an educator she taught various theatre and acting courses at the

University of North Carolina School of the Arts The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is a public art school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants a high school diploma, in addition to both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina Sc ...

and graduate acting classes at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. She also taught acting and drama courses at

Koç University Koç University () is a private non-profit research university in Istanbul, Turkey. It started education in temporary buildings in İstinye in 1993, and moved to its current Rumelifeneri campus near Sarıyer in 2000. Koç University is ranked hi ...

for about 4 years.

Selected filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* 1939 births Living people Actresses from Ankara Turkish film actresses Turkish stage actresses Turkish television actresses Robert College alumni {{Turkey-actor-stub