Melisa Sözen (born 6 July 1985) is a Turkish actress.
Biography Starting her professional career at the very early age of 15, she studied in theatre department of Pera Fine Arts High School. Sözen starred in many Turkish TV hits including Çemberimde Gül Oya, Bıçak Sırtı, Bir Bulut Olsam, Muhteşem Yüzyıl, Kırmızı Oda and Şubat. She played two different roles in the surreal series Şubat alongside her ex-husband Alican Yücesoy.
After working with Turkey's most prominent directors in movies like Av Mevsimi, Bir Varmış Bir Yokmuş and Cenneti Beklerken. Sözen attracted international attention with her phenomenal acting in Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Palme d'Or winning Kış Uykusu in 2014. Sözen frequently was invited as a jury member to many international film festivals including Guanajuato International Film Festival (Mexico, 2015), International Istanbul Film Festival (Turkey, 2016), Sarajevo Film Festival (Bosnia Herzegovina, 2017) and Cannes Series (France, 2018).
Following her role in the 3rd Season of Éric Rochant's influential series Le bureau des légendes in 2017, Sözen moved to Paris for a while and worked on her French. Her first leading role in a French movie came in 2019 with Damien veut changer le monde.
With Kenan İmirzalıoğlu, she played in Blutv's detective series Alef about history of theology. Sözen appeared in Netflix series Biz Kimden Kaçıyorduk Anne?, the adaptation of the Perihan Mağden's novel. She had leading role in an episode of mini series 7 Yüz with ensemble cast.
Achieving an extraordinary level of critical success in her homeland by winning both Theater Critics Association's and Film Critics Association's awards for the actress in a leading role in 2015 with her performances in play Kalp Düğümü (The Knot of the Heart) .
In 2025, Sözen was questioned by Istanbul police on suspicion of "promoting terrorist propaganda", following her role in Le Bureau des Légendes, in which her character wore an outfit similar to that of the YPG, designated as a terrorist organisation in Turkey. Sözen, who was not detained, denied that the costume was a deliberate reference to the group and observed that the programme had not been broadcast in Turkey.
Personal life As of 2014, she is in a relationship with Harun Tekin who is one of the founding members and the vocalist of the Turkish rock band Mor ve Ötesi.
Filmography
Web series Year Title Role Note2017Le Bureau des LégendesEsrinCanal + Presents7YüzBanuBluTV Presents2020AlefYaşarFX & BluTV Presents2023Biz Kimden Kaçıyorduk Anne?MotherNetflix Presents TV series Year Title Role Note1997Baba EviGuest1999Kadınlar KulübüYoung 2001Nisan YağmuruNilüferYeni HayatÖzgür2002Asmalı KonakGuest2003Büyümüş De KüçülmüşŞebnemŞıh SenemŞıh kızı SinemŞarkılar Seni SöylerFatoş 2004-2005 Çemberimde Gül Oya Feriha 2005Beşinci Boyutİş Kadını Özlem Güler EkergilGuest 2006 Azap Yolu Burcu 2007Hakkını Helal EtGamzeGuest 2007-2008 Bıçak Sırtı Nisan Ertuğrul 2009-2010 Bir Bulut Olsam Narin Bulut 2010 Güneydoğudan Öyküler Önce Vatan Aylin Solmaz KollamaAvukat Pınar BüyükGuest 2011 Reis Ayşe2012 Muhteşem Yüzyıl Nora (Efsun Hatun)Joined Şubat Yağmur & Sabah2014 Anasının Oğlu Ece 2015Beş KardeşFahriye2016-2017Hayat ŞarkısıİpekJoined2018Babamın GünahlarıYeşim2020Kırmızı OdaAlyaJoined
Films Year Title Role Note 2000Aşk Güzel ŞeydirTV filmKöçek 2001 Bana Şans Dile Tuba 2004 Okul Ceyda O Şimdi Mahkum Aylin Kayıp Aşklar Nermin 2005 Deli Mavi / İşte Öyle Bir Şey Lara TV film 2006 Cenneti Beklerken Leyla Eve Giden Yol 1914 Safiye 2007 Kabuslar Evi: Seni Beklerken Mukaddes-Ece 2008Para=DolarTV film 2010 Av Mevsimi Asiye 2012 Pazarları Hiç Sevmem Deniz2014 Kış Uykusu Nihal Benimle Var Mısın2015Bir Varmış Bir YokmuşNehir2017Çember: Kızımı Bulunİpek EryılmazTV film series2019Damien veut changer le mondeSelma
Short film Year Title Role Note2002İçeridekiZeynep2005ÇarpışmaPurse woman2006İade-i ZiyaretCansu2019The Day AfterWoman on the bus
Dubbing Year Title Role Note 2009 Casus Kızlar Clover 2020Ben Tek Siz HepinizOperator
References
External links
Melisa Sözen ~ SinemaTürk