Hülya Koçyiğit (born 12 December 1947) is a Turkish actress. A prominent female lead in the Turkish cinema, she received numerous awards at international film festivals, including the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival. Altogether, she has acted in some 180 films.

Biography

Koçyiğit's father is a Turkish immigrant from Bulgaria. She grew up in

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 ...

and finished her secondary education 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 ( ...

, where she attended Atatürk High School for Girls. After she then enrolled in Ankara Academy of State Art's

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

department for education in the arts, she continued ballet department of Istanbul City Conservatory. She joined Istanbul City Theatre during her middle education. After Muhsin Ertuğrul suggested, she studied in theatre department of Ankara State Conservatory. Koçyiğit decided to venture into cinema in 1963 after she was the runner-up in a beauty contest organized by the magazine ''Ses'' (literally: ''Sound''). Her debut film was the 1964 '' Susuz Yaz'' (''Dry Summer''), which went on to win the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...

Award at the 14th Berlin International Film Festival. This honor was the first of its kind ever bestowed upon a Turkish movie. ''Derman'', a film she starred in was the first Turkish film that played in five continents. ''Kurbağalar'', another of her famous films was the first Turkish movie that was sold to international televisions. She received the distinction of "Turkish state artist" in 1991. Lütfü Akad, Atıf Yılmaz, Şerif Gören, Metin Erksan, Orhan Aksoy, Memduh Ün, Ertem Eğilmez, Osman F. Seden, Halit Refiğ are some of the famous directors who have worked with Koçyiğit. Koçyiğit holds the distinction of being the Turkish actress of having won the most national and international awards and is probably, the most recognised face of the Turkish silver screen. Her movies between 1965 and 1974, her golden period, constantly captivated movie audiences. She was recognizable in many countries like

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. In 2009, she starred in Altın Kızlar the Turkish TV adaptation of the famous American series, ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...

''. Koçyiğit played the role originated by Bea Arthur. Her sisters Nilüfer Koçyiğit, Feryal Koçyiğit and her daughter Gülşah Alkoçlar were child actresses. She married in 1968 Selim Soydan, then a Fenerbahçe S.K. footballer. The couple has a daughter named Gülşah Alkoçlar. Her grandchild Neslişah Alkoçlar married actor Engin Altan Düzyatan.

Filmography

Series

*Macide Öğretmen *Asla Unutma *Nisan Yağmuru *Altın Kızlar

Movies

Awards

Domestic festival awards

* Best Actress of the Year, Turkish Ministry of Tourism (1964) * Woman of the Year, Turkish Women's Union (1964) * Golden Orange (Antalya) for ''Cemile'' (1969) * Golden Boll (Adana) for ''Zehra'' (1972) * Golden Orange (Antalya) for ''Diyet'' (1975) * Golden Orange (Antalya) for ''Derman'' (1984) * Golden Orange (Antalya) for ''Karılar Koğuşu'' (1990) * Golden Orange, Lifetime Achievement Award * Golden Boll, Lifetime Achievement Award * Çasot, Lifetime Achievement Award * Istanbul Film Festival, Honorary Award * Ankara Film Festival, Honorary Award * Uçan Süpürge Film Festival, Honorary Award * Siyad, Honorary Award

International film awards

* Most Successful Actress Award for ''Kurbağalar'', Nantes Film Festival (1987) * Best Actress Award for ''Bez Bebek'', Amiens Film Festival (1988)

Foreign film festival appearances

* London Film Festival, for ''Derman'' * Berlin Film Festival, for ''Susuz Yaz'' * Mexico Film Festival, for ''Susuz Yaz'' * Tehran Film Festival, for ''Gelin'' * Tashkent Film Festival, for ''Almanya Acı Vatan''

Film festival screenings

* ''Susuz Yaz'' Berlin Film Festival, Mexico Film Festival * ''Gelin'' Tehran Film Festival * ''Derman'' Karlovy Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, London Film Festival, Nantes Film Festival, Damascus Film Festival (She holds the greatest award), Tashkent Film Festival * ''Kurbağalar'' Nantes Film Festival, Best Actress Award * ''Yalan Dunya'' Antalya Film Festival

References

External links

* * * Biyografi.info �
''Biography of Hülya Koçyiğit''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kocyigit, Hulya 1947 births Actresses from Istanbul Turkish film actresses Best Actress Golden Orange Award winners Best Actress Golden Boll Award winners Golden Orange Life Achievement Award winners Living people State Artists of Turkey 20th-century Turkish actresses 21st-century Turkish actresses Bulgarian Turks in Turkey