Ayşe Yıldız Kenter (11 October 1928 – 17 November 2019) was a Turkish

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

and lecturer, who was of English descent from her maternal side. Kenter was also a

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador is an official postnominal honorific title, title of authority, legal status and job description assigned to those goodwill ambassadors and advocates who are designated by the United Nations. The United Nations In ...

Early years

Ayşe Yıldız Kenter was born to diplomat Ahmet Naci Kenter and his wife Nadide, née Olga Cynthia, in Istanbul on 11 October 1928. Her mother was naturalized after her marriage to Ahmet Naci and move to Turkey, changing her given name to Nadide. Kenter graduated from Ankara State Conservatory.

Acting career

She worked for eleven years at the Ankara State Theatre. She obtained a fellowship from the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Ca ...

, and went to the United States, where she attended

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre is a full-time professional conservatory for actors in New York City. First operational from 1915 to 1927, the school re-opened in 1928 and has been active ever since. It is the birthplace of th ...

and

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founde ...

to study advanced drama education. After returning home, she was appointed instructor at the Ankara State Conservatory. On 1959, she resigned from her post at the State Theatre. After working one year with

Muhsin Ertuğrul Muhsin Ertuğrul (28 February 1892 – 29 April 1979), also known as Ertuğrul Muhsin Bey, was a Turkish actor and director. Muhsin Ertuğrul, who had important contributions to both Turkish theatre and Turkish cinema, was born in İstanbul ...

, she co-founded the "Kent Theatre Company" with her brother Müşfik Kenter and husband Şükran Güngör. In later years, she conducted studies on "Changing Education Methods" and "Acting Methods" in the U.S. and United Kingdom. The construction of the

Kenter Theatre Kenter Theatre ( tr, Kenter Tiyatrosu) is a theatre located in Istanbul, Turkey established by Yıldız Kenter and Müşfik Kenter of the Kenter acting dynasty in 1968. Kenter Theatre is situated on the Halaskargazi Avenue in Harbiye quarter of ...

building in Istanbul was completed in 1968. She played in English and Turkish language in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, United States, United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Canada,

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

and Cyprus. She staged and played more than hundred works of foreign playwrights such as

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career a ...

Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

, Ionesco, Pinter, Albee,

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

Alan Ayckbourn Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. He has written and produced as of 2021, more than eighty full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director o ...

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), ''Death of a Salesman'' (19 ...

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription req ...

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

Athol Fugard Athol Fugard, Hon. , (born 11 June 1932), is a South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director widely regarded as South Africa's greatest playwright. He is best known for his political and penetrating plays opposing the system of apar ...

, Sergei Kokovkin and also of Turkish dramatists like

Melih Cevdet Anday Melih Cevdet Anday (13 March 1915 – 28 November 2002) was a Turkish writer whose poetry stands outside the traditional literary movements. He also wrote in many other genres which, over six and a half decades, included eleven collections of p ...

Necati Cumalı Necati Cumalı (13 January 1921 – 10 January 2001) was a Turkish writer of novels, short-stories, essays and poetry. He was born in Florina, Greece to a Turkish family and his family had settled in Urla near İzmir in the framework of the 1 ...

, Güner Sümer,

Adalet Ağaoğlu Adalet Ağaoğlu (née Sümer; 23 October 1929 – 14 July 2020) was a Turkish novelist and playwright, considered one of the foremost novelists of 20th-century Turkish literature. She also wrote essays, memoirs, and short stories. Life Sh ...

, Zeki Özturanlı, Güngör Dilmen, Muzaffer İzgü. She served 37 years as a professor of stage acting.

Personal life

In 1951, Yıldız Kenter married Nihat Akçan, the brother of singer Nesrin Sipahi. A year later, she gave birth to a daughter. This marriage lasted seven years. Her second marriage in 1965 was to Şükran Güngör who died in 2002. Yıldız Kenter died at the age of 91 on 17 November 2019 in intensive care, at a private hospital in Istanbul. She was interred at the

Aşiyan Asri Cemetery The Aşiyan Asri Cemetery ( tr, Aşiyan Asri Mezarlığı) is a burial ground situated on Aşiyan between the Bebek and Rumelihisarı neighborhoods of the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. Many renowned intellectuals, writers and artists rest i ...

following a memorial ceremony held at the Kenter Theatre and the religious funeral service at Afet Yolal Mosque in

Levent Levent is a neighbourhood and one of the main business districts of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European side of the city. It is a part of the municipality of Beşiktaş and is situated to the north of the Golden Horn, at the western sh ...

. She is survived by her two daughters.

Awards and honors

On 1962, Kenter was honored with the "Woman of the Year Award" for her service in theatre. She received three times the

Golden Orange Award Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

for "Best Supporting Actress". In 1984, the

Italian Cultural Institute The Istituto Italiano di Cultura, the Italian Cultural Institute in English, is a worldwide non-profit organization created by the Italian government. It promotes Italian culture and is involved in the teaching of the Italian language. The creati ...

in Rome awarded her the "

Adelaide Ristori Adelaide Ristori (29 January 18229 October 1906) was a distinguished Italian tragedienne, who was often referred to as the Marquise. Biography She was born in Cividale del Friuli, the daughter of strolling players and appeared as a child on the ...

Prize". For her role in the Turkish drama movie '' Hanım'', she received the "Best Actress Award" at the "1989 Bastia Film Festival" in Corsica. The

Lions Clubs International The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois, by Melvin Jones. It is now headquarte ...

honored her in 1991 for her service to theatre art with the " Melvin Jones Award". She received twice the "

Ulvi Uraz Ulvi Uraz (13 February 1921 – 25 May 1974) was a Turkish theater and film actor and director. Partial filmography * ''Zümrüt'' (1959) - Ziya * ''Tütün Zamanı'' (1959) - Bekir * ''Kalpaklilar'' (1960) * ''Denize inen sokak'' (1960) ...

Best Actress Award" and three times the " Avni Dilligil Award" in the same category. The 1World Women Organization of Finland" named her one of the "Most Successful 100 Women of the Century". In 1995, Kenter was awarded the "Honor" title by the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry ...

for her contribution to the theatre art. The same year, she received the "Brotherhood and Peace Award of

Mevlana Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī ( fa, جلال‌الدین محمد رومی), also known as Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī (), Mevlânâ/Mawlānā ( fa, مولانا, lit= our master) and Mevlevî/Mawlawī ( fa, مولوی, lit= my ma ...

". In 1996, the "Tabloid Journalists Association" ( tr, Magazin Gazetecikeri Derneği) awarded her the "Best Actress Prize" for her role as "Jülide" in the theatre play "Ramiz ile Jülide" ("Ramiz and Jülide"). She received the "Lifelong Achievement in Theatre Award" of the International Istanbul Festival in 1997, bestowed by Dame Diana Rigg. In 1998, she was named the "Best Actress of the Year" by Ankara Culture Society, she received the "Lifelong Achievement in Theatre Prize of Muhsin Ertuğrul" and she was honored with the "Presidential Grand Culture and Arts Award". The next year, she received the "Best Actress Prize" of "

Afife Jale Afife Jale (1902 – July 24, 1941) was a Turkish stage actress, best known as the first Muslim theatre actress in Turkey. Career Afife was studying at the Girls Industry School in Istanbul; however, she wanted to be an actress. In the Ottoman ...

Drama Awards" for her role as Madame Arcadina in ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises ...

''.

Filmography

* ''Vatan İçin'' (1951) * ''Ağaçlar Ayakta Ölür'' (1964) * ''Anneler ve Kızları'' (1971) * ''Pembe Kadın'' (1966) * ''İsyancılar'' (1966) * ''Yaşlı Gözler'' (1967) * ''Fatma Bacı'' (1972) * ''Ablam'' (1973) * ''Kızım Ayşe'' (1974) * ''Çöl Faresi'' (1977) * '' Hanım'' (1988) * ''

The Raindrop ''The Raindrop'' ( tr, Güle Güle) is a 2000 Turkish comedy-drama film, directed by Zeki Ökten, which chronicles the friendship of five elderly residents of Bozcaada. The film, which went on nationwide general release across Turkey on , won ...

'' (2000) * ''

Big Man, Little Love ''Big Man, Little Love'' ( tr, Büyük Adam Küçük Aşk, ku, Hêjar) is a 2001 international co-production drama film, written and directed by Handan İpekçi, about an orphaned Kurdish child and a Turkish pensioner thrown together by circumst ...

'' (2001) * ''Aşk ve Gurur'' (2002) (TV series) * ''Saklambaç'' (2005) (TV series) * '' Whatever You Wish'' (2005) * ''Balıketi'' (2007) (TV) * '' The White Angel'' (2007)

References

External links

* * Kent Actors Theatre
Official website
* Biyografi.info
''Biography of Yıldız Kenter''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenter, Yildiz 1928 births Actresses from Istanbul Ankara State Conservatory alumni Academic staff of Ankara State Conservatory Turkish people of English descent Turkish Muslims Turkish stage actresses Turkish film actresses Turkish television actresses 20th-century Turkish actresses 21st-century Turkish actresses Turkish theatre owners Best Supporting Actress Golden Orange Award winners State Artists of Turkey 2019 deaths Burials at Aşiyan Asri Cemetery