Leyla Hazal Kaya (born 1 October 1990) is a Turkish actress best known for her leading roles in Aşk-ı Memnu (2008–2010), Adını Feriha Koydum (2011–2012) and Bizim Hikaye (2017–2019).
Kaya is one of Turkey's highest-paid actresses. She received several accolades and was the only Turkish recipient of the "Lebanon Awards 2015" award. She made her acting debut with a guest role in Acemi Cadı. Kaya gain popularity for Nihal Ziyagil in a modern-day adaptation of the novel Aşk-ı Memnu, written by Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil.
She is best known for playing the role of Feriha Sarrafoglu, Adını Feriha Koydum (2011–2012) and won 2nd Crystal Mouse Media Awards for Best Actress. The series had one of the highest TV ratings in Turkey. She further known for playing Filiz Elibol in Bizim Hikaye (inspired by the British TV show Shameless) (2017–2019) for which she received highly acclaimed and Latina Turkish Awards for Best Actress respectively.
Kaya also plays the lead character Esra / Peride in the time travel historical drama series Midnight at the Pera Palace (2022). The show was premiered on Netflix. She married actor Ali Atay in 2019; they have two children together.
Early life Kaya was born in Konya, Turkey. She attended Gaziosmanpaşa elementary school and graduated in 2009 from the Liceo Italiano di Istanbul. She enrolled in Istanbul Bilgi University for her higher education. Her parents, who are both lawyers, divorced when she was 7 years old. She was introduced to the art and acting world at a very young age, and as a child she took ballet and violin lessons for 7 years. Kaya speaks Italian and English fluently, in addition to her native language Turkish. She was also said to be learning a fourth language, German.
Career Early work (2006–2011) Kaya started her acting career in 2006 with TV series Genco. She played the character of Özge (Gülay Erkaya). She had guest roles in fantasy series Acemi Cadı of Turkish version "Sabrina Teenage Witch", popular series Sıla, "Taşların Sırrı". In 2008, Kaya played Nihal Ziyagil in a modern-day adaptation of the novel Aşk-ı Memnu, written by Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil. co-starring Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ and Beren Saat. She had her cinematic debut in Selçuk Aydemir's movie Çalgı Çengi in 2011.
At the same time she took lessons from Ayla Algan in drama. She then joined Ümit Çırak Modern Acting Techniques Workshop and took acting lessons from Ümit Çırak himself.
Career progression (2012–2016)
Kaya's turning point came when she starred in the first two seasons of the TV series Adını Feriha Koydum (2011) as the lead character, Feriha Yilmaz. She played the role of a porter's daughter trapped between two lives and falls in love with the most popular student at her university, a rich and handsome boy "Emir Sarrafoğlu" (Çağatay Ulusoy). The series had one of the highest TV ratings in Turkey and was highly acclaimed. Later, together with her mother Ayşegül Kaya, she appeared in the commercials for Bingo. In the late 2012, she left the cast of Adını Feriha Koydum and starred in a new series called Son Yaz Balkanlar 1912, portraying the character Emine. However, the series ended after a few episodes due to low ratings.
She later appeared in the 2013 series A.Ş.K and played the character of Azra Özak, a tennis coach. That series also ended after 13 episodes. In 2015 she appeared in Maral: En Güzel Hikayem, opposite Aras Bulut İynemli. She played the leading character Maral Erdem.
Established actress (2017–present)
After a break of one year, she starred in TV show Bizim Hikaye (in English: Our Story), which is the Turkish adaptation of the American TV series Shameless. In this TV show Kaya plays "Filiz Elibol Aktan", (a young girl forced to take care of her five younger siblings after her mother left the lower-class family) opposite actor Burak Deniz. Writing for Vatan, "She reacted positively to Hazal Kaya's acting, stating while watching Filiz on the screen". The series received positive response and Kaya's performance was highly acclaimed and teamed as "remarkable" and received several accolades including 19th Internet Media Best of the Year Awards for Best Actress and Latina Turkish Awards for Best Series Pair (Burak Deniz). The series was aired in variety of languages.
As of 2021, she shares the leading roles with Bugra Gulsoy and Ozan Dolunay in the TV series Misafir, an adaptation of the Japanese TV series Oasis. Since 2010, she appears as Behzat's dead daughter "Berna" in some episodes and film of hit crime series Behzat Ç.
Personal life She married actor Ali Atay on 6 February 2019, and gave birth to their son later that year. Their daughter was born in February 2023. In April 2023, prosecutors demanded that Kaya be imprisoned for two years and four months for a tweet in which she allegedly had insulted a Turkish sergeant who was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for having raped Ipek Er.
In the media Kaya is one of Turkey's highest-paid actresses. Ichaps, having chosen the most important names of 2014 in many categories, included Hazal Kaya among the "most influential names in the world" and granted her the medal of international excellence in the category of artists. According to the results of a survey conducted on the United Arab Emirates-based MBC channels, which ranked Turkish series and special programs, she ranked 4th on the list of most admired Turkish women artists. At the same time, official surveys covering the August 2010–August 2015 period, taken in 35 countries, placed her 6th on the list of 10 most popular actresses. She was also the only Turkish recipient of the "Lebanon Awards 2015" award. According to the results obtained from 35 countries between May 2011 and May 2016, Kaya was the 6th most popular actress. In May 2016, she rose to number five on the list. The website World's Most Beautifuls ranked her fifth on the list of 10 most beautiful women of 2016.
Filmography Films Year Title Role Notes2011 Çalgı Çengi Young girl at the warehouse Special guest appearance Behzat Ç. Seni Kalbime Gömdüm Berna Ç. Ay Büyürken Uyuyamam Hülya 2012 Bu Son Olsun Lale 2013 Mavi Dalga Arzu Supporting role 2014 İtirazım Var Zeynep Bulut Leading role 2015 Kırık Kalpler Bankası Aslım 2022 Benden Ne Olur? Sertab Bal
Television Year Title Role Notes 2006–2007 Acemi Cadı Pelin Guest appearance 2006 Taşların Sırrı Bengü 2006–2008 Sıla Berrin 2007–2008 Genco Özge (Gülay Erkaya) Supporting role 2008–2010 Aşk-ı Memnu Nihal Ziyagil 2010 Behzat Ç. Bir Ankara Polisiyesi Berna Ç. Guest appearance 2011–2012 Adını Feriha Koydum Feriha Yılmaz Sarrafoğlu Leading role 2012 Son Yaz-Balkanlar 1912 Emine 2013 A.Ş.K. Azra Özak 2015 Maral: En Güzel Hikayem Maral Erdem 2017–2019 Bizim Hikaye Filiz Elibol Aktan 2020 Menajerimi Ara Herself Guest appearance 2021 Misafir Gece / Güneş Leading role
Web series Year Title Role Notes2022–Midnight at the Pera PalaceEsra / PerideLeading role
Other work and image In advertising Year Commercials 2006 Tofita 2007 Nescafé Molped Turkcell 2008 Eti Burçak 2010 Penti 2012 Bingo 2014 Lux Arabia 2020–2021 İstegelsin 2021 Önlem Bebek Bezi
In music videos Year Music video 2008 Aslı Güngör - "İzmir Bilir Ya" 2011 Selçuk Balcı - "Deniz Üstünde Fener" 2017 Çağatay Akman - "Bizim Hikaye" with Burak Deniz2018Cihan Mürtezaoğlu - "Bizim Hikaye" with Burak Deniz
Awards and nominations
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Result 2010 Kavram Olympic Awards Best Young Actress 2011 Ayaklıgazete.com Awards The Most Beautiful Actress 2011 Dizifilm.com Oscars Best Drama Actress 2012 Ayaklıgazete.com Awards Best Actress in History Series 2012 Televizyondizisi.com Awards Most Popular Actress Sosyalmedya.cc Awards Best Actress Eniyiyisec.com Awards Best Actress Bakmoda.com Awards Best Actress 2013 Sayidaty Arab Journal Best Turkish Female Star 2nd Crystal Mouse Media Awards Best Actress MagaziMedya.com Turkey's Most Beautiful Screen Face Gazete5.com Best Actress Sizcene.com Awards The Most Beautiful TV Actress in Turkey Magazincity.com Awards Best Actress on TV Politics Magazine Awards TV Actress of the Year YılınFenomeni.com Phenomenon Actress of the YearYılın Fenomeni Adayları OMÜ 3rd Media Awards Best Actress 2014 Ayaklıgazete.com Awards Best Drama Actress 2nd Düzce University Media Awards Best Actress 5th KTÜ Media Awards The Most Admired Actress Bilgisefi.com The Most Beautiful Actress in Turkeyhttp://www.bilgisefi.com/2014/05/en-iyi-turk-kadn-oyuncu-ankeyi.html?m=1 Felsebiyat Journal Cinema Nominees The Actress of the Year The Medal of Excellence for the Most Influential Figures in the World Awards Medal of Excellence Top 33 of The Most Beautiful Women on TV Awards The Breathtaking Women 2015 Lebanon Awards Best Actress TelevizyonDizisi.com Awards Best Actress Marie Claire Turkey The Most Favorite Actress Eurasia Best Awards Best Actresshttp://avrasyaenleri.com/oy-ver/ 4th Crystal Mouse Media Awards Best Actress 2016 7th KTÜ Media Awards The Most Admired Actress 2017 Latina Turkish Awards Best Kissing Scene (Hazal Kaya - Çağatay Ulusoy) Turkey Youth Awards Best TV Actress Stars of the Year Awards Most Popular Female TV Series 2018 IU Student Council 1453 Awards Best Actress of the Year 2019 Latina Turkish Awards Best Actress Latina Turkish Awards Best Series Pair (Hazal Kaya - Burak Deniz) 19th Internet Media Best of the Year Awards Best Actress Istanbul Aydın University Communication Awards Best Actress 2021 Istanbul University 7th Golden 61 Awards Best Advertising Face of the Year
References
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