Nejla Ateş (March 7, 1932 - died 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 ...

on September 19, 1995) was a Turkish belly dancer and actress, born in

Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...

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

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

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and as Nejla Ates in the

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. 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 based on Sir Walter Scott's '' The Talisman'' made by Warner Bros. The film stars Rex Harrison, Virginia Mayo, George Sanders and Laurence Harvey, with Robert Douglas, Mich ...

'' 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

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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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