Original photograph signed and inscribed 'Türkan Soray'

TÜRKAN SORAY, (Turkish actress, writer and film director), (1945-).

Bella Fotograf Stüdyosu., Istanbul, [ca. 1965].

Original b/w portrait photograph signed and inscribed by Türkan Soray as 'Güzel cici Jale'ye'. 14x9 cm. In Turkish. Soray is a Turkish actress, writer, and film director. She is known as "Sultan" of the Cinema of Turkey. She started her career in 1960 and won her first award as the most successful actress at the 1st Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival for the movie Aci Hayat. Having appeared in more than 222 films, Şoray has starred in the most feature films for a female actress worldwide. On 12 March 2010, Şoray was chosen as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador in Turkey, about which she said: "I think there is nothing that cannot be done with love. If we combine power with love, we can overcome many problems". Together with Hülya Koçyigit, Filiz Akin, and Fatma Girik, she is an icon for a golden age in Turkish cinematography and is regarded as one of the four most important actresses in Turkish cinema. Out of these actresses, Soray is the only one who also pursued a career in film directing and directed the movies Dönüs (1972), Azap (1973), Bodrum Hâkimi (1976), Yilani Öldürseler (1981), and Uzaklarda Arama (2015). While studying at Fatih Kiz Lisesi middle school, the homeowner's daughter of their house in Karagümrük later known as "Panter Emel" and Türkan Şoray went to the same film set. With an incentive from Türker Inanoglu, she made her first steps into Yesilçam. Instead of Emel Yildiz marking the beginning of Türkan Soray's career the 1960’s "Köyde Bir Kiz Sevdim" co-starred with Baki Tamer. Türkan Şoray recounts the memories of her introduction to cinema as such: "Before entering cinema a film set arrived in our neighborhood. They were going to film a set of movie in our neighborhood. When I saw the leading role actress I thought to myself 'what a beautiful woman'. That woman was Muhterem Nur. As I was looking dumbfounded a man approached me and asked 'Do you want to act in the movies too?'. I was scared and ran home immediately. I learned later on that, that man was Memduh Ün. Back then I ran from a movie set but later on, movie sets became my life" recounts Türkan Soray. Soray earned her first Golden Orange award in 1964 for her role as Nermin opposite Ekrem Bora in the movie Aci Hayat which was directed by Metin Erksan. In 1968, Şoray received her second Golden Orange award for her work in the movie Vesikali Yarim, written by Safa Önal and based off Sait Faik Abasiyanik's "Menekseli Vadi". She went on working with respectable directors in later years. One of them was Atif Yilmaz, with whom she would work in both dramas and comedies. In the 1970s she also acted in films with a more realistic theme. She also directed four films in those years. Her most applauded films in the 1970s included Selvi Boylum Al Yazmalim, Hazal, Sultan, Dönüs, and Baraj. In those films, she was mostly accompanied by the famous Turkish actor Kadir Inanir.