Deniz Akkaya is a Turkish top model, presenter, occasional fashion editor and disc jockey, entrepreneur, businesswoman, and actress who won Best Model of Turkey 1997. As the top-earning model in Turkey in the early 2000s, Deniz Akkaya is considered to be one of the most leading models in Turkish fashion history, and one of the most beautiful women of the country.

Early life and family

Akkaya is Circassian, as the daughter of an

Hatuqwai The Hatuqway are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of the twelve stars on the green-and-gold Circassian flag. They were known for their art of war as a warrior tribe. Their presence in the Caucasus was destroyed durin ...

father and a Kabardian mother named Dinemyis ( Adyghe: ''Apple of the eye''). Her father was a

bureaucrat A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can compose the administration of any organization of any size, although the term usually connotes someone within an institution of government. The term ''bureaucrat'' derives from "bureaucracy", wh ...

and

master mariner A master mariner is a licensed mariner who holds the highest grade of licensed seafarer qualification; namely, a master's license. A master mariner is therefore allowed to serve as the captain (nautical), master of a merchant ship for which natio ...

who served as the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

(managing director) of Turkish Maritime Facilities Inc. Her mother was an

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

who worked for

Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları''), or legally Türk Hava Yolları Anonim Ortaklığı, is the flag carrier of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 352 destinations (including cargo) in Europe, Asia, Oce ...

, the national flag carrier of Turkey. She studied American

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

. After graduating from the ISTEK SS Private High School on the

Avenue Avenue or Avenues may refer to: Roads * Avenue (landscape), traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees, in the shifted sense a tree line itself, or some of boulevards (also without trees) * Avenue Road, Bangalore * Avenue Road, Lon ...

Kadıköy Kadıköy () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district on the Asian side of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 25 km2, and its population is 467,919 (2023). It is a large and populous area in the Asian si ...

, she studied American Culture and Literature in Department of Western Languages and Literatures of Faculty of Letters at

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

. Following the competitions

Elite Model Look Elite Model Look (formerly known as Look of the Year from 1983 to 1995) is a yearly fashion modeling event held by Elite Model Management, an international model management group. It is used to discover and launch female fashion models in the in ...

and

Best Model of Turkey Best Model of Turkey is a female or male beauty competition. From 1988 to 1993, only Turkey's best female model was chosen in the competition. Since 1993, male models are also included. There were two exceptions: in 2004 when in addition to a mal ...

, she decided to embark on a professional modelling career.

Modelling career and fashion

In 2006, Akkaya became the host and lead judge of the fashion-themed reality television show '' Turkey's Next Top Model'', the Turkish counterpart of the ''

Top Model ''Top Model'', also called ''Next Top Model'', is a fashion-themed reality television show format produced in many countries throughout the world and seen in over 120 countries producing over 200 seasons (referred to as "cycles"). The show t ...

'' franchise that was hosted by many supermodels, including

Tyra Banks Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American model, television personality, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15 and was the first Black A ...

in the United States and

Heidi Klum Heidi Klum (; born 1 June 1973) is a German and American model, television personality, producer, and businesswoman. She appeared on the cover of the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' in 1998 and was the first German model to become a Vict ...

in Germany. In 2015, she was also entered in the Best of the Best as one of the ''

Habertürk ''Habertürk'' (), abbreviated as ''HT'', was a high-circulation Turkish newspaper. It was established on 1 March 2009 by Ciner Media Group, drawing on the brand of Ciner's Habertürk TV. It ceased publication on 5 July 2018. The newspaper s ...

'' top 20 winners of the

competition, and finished first amongst the former female titleholders who found entry in the large-scale survey that lasted for fifteen days.

Acting career

After being crowned Best Model of Turkey 1997, Akkaya decided to embark on a professional modelling career. As a film and television actress, she has acted in the films '' The Masked Gang: Cyprus'' (2007), ''

Living & Dying ''Living & Dying'' is a 2007 film starring Edward Furlong and Michael Madsen. The film was shot on location in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. It was released on DVD in the US on December 25, 2007. ''Living & Dying'' tells the story of two killers ...

'' (2007), ''

School A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

'' (2003), ''

Vizontele Tuuba ''Vizontele Tuuba'' is a 2004 Turkish comedy-drama film, written and directed by Yılmaz Erdoğan, based on the writer-director's childhood memories of the last summer of his childhood in village in 1980. The film, which went on nationwide release ...

'' (2003), and ''

Green Light Green Light, green light, green-light or greenlight may refer to: * Green-colored light, part of the visible spectrum * Greenlight, formal approval of a project to move forward Arts, entertainment, and media Films and television * Green Light ( ...

'' (2002) in addition to the television series ''Hemşehrim'' (1996), ''Şarkılar Seni Söyler'' (2003), and ''Metro Palas'' (2004). She also served as editor for a fashion magazine and launched the children's luxury ready-to-wear store Chic Frog by Deniz Akkaya.

Personal life

In 2009, she gave birth to her daughter in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, US.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Akkaya, Deniz 1977 births 20th-century Turkish actresses 21st-century Turkish actresses Actresses from Istanbul Best Model of the World contestants Best Model of Turkey winners Turkish businesspeople in fashion Fashion editors Women DJs Living people People from Kayseri Retail company founders Turkish female models Turkish people of Circassian descent 21st-century Turkish women musicians Women magazine editors Turkish women editors Turkish women bloggers Turkish bloggers