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

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

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 activists, advocates who are designated by the United Nations. The UNICEF, ...

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 moved to Turkey, changing her given name to Nadide. Kenter's paternal grandfather was Mehmet Galip Bey.

Acting career

Kenter graduated from Ankara State Conservatory. 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 foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

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

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

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

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

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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, Brecht, 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 three ...

, Alan Ayckbourn,

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'' (1 ...

, Brian Friel,

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 received three ...

Athol Fugard Harold Athol Lanigan Fugard (; 11 June 19328 March 2025) was a South African playwright, novelist, actor and director. Widely regarded as South Africa's greatest playwright and acclaimed as "the greatest active playwright in the English-speaki ...

, Sergei Kokovkin and also of Turkish dramatists like

Melih Cevdet Anday Melih Cevdet Anday (13 March 1915 – 28 November 2002) was a Turkish people, 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 ...

, Necati Cumalı, Güner Sümer, Adalet Ağaoğlu, 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 following a memorial ceremony held at the Kenter Theatre and the religious funeral service at Afet Yolal Mosque in Levent. 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 for "Best Supporting Actress". In 1984, the Italian Cultural Institute in Rome awarded her the " Adelaide Ristori Prize". For her role in the Turkish drama movie '' Hanım'', she received the "Best Actress Award" at the "1989 Bastia Film Festival" in

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

. The Lions Clubs International honored her in 1991 for her service to theatre art with the " Melvin Jones Award". She received twice the " Ulvi Uraz 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 o ...

for her contribution to the theatre art. The same year, she received the "Brotherhood and Peace Award of Mevlana". In 1996, the "Tabloid Journalists Association" () 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 Drama Awards" for her role as Madame Arcadina in ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' () is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 in literature, 1895 and first produced in 1896 in literature#Drama, 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramati ...

''.

Filmography

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