Leman Sam (born Emine Leman Şenkan; 22 February 1951) is a Turkish singer and songwriter. Her daughter

Şevval Sam Türkdeniz Şevval Sam (; born 11 November 1973) is a Turkish singer and actress. She is the daughter of Leman Sam, who is also a singer. She is known for her performance on ''Yasak Elma'' as Ender, and other TV series, including ''Süper Baba'' ...

and her grandson Taro Emir Tekin are both actors.

Background

Leman Sam's origins have been described as ''Rumeli''. She grew up in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and has received formal education in

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

, singing and

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

. She worked in an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

chorus for a time. She has recorded several

Azeri Azeri or Azeri Turk may refer to: * Azeri people, an ethnic group also known as Azerbaijanis * Citizens of Azerbaijan * Azeri language, the modern-day Turkic language * Old Azeri, an extinct Iranian language * Azeri Turk (journal), Academic jour ...

türküs.

Career

In addition to her distinctive style, she has received appreciation for her folk songs. She is also famous as an artist who can sing in multiple languages including Greek, French, and Spanish. Sam, who is not observed in the media platforms, has given concerts in many cities and countries including many diplomatic concerts. Sam, who is sensitive to the protection of natural life and animal rights, carries out activities that raise awareness for related community. The character Tuba in

Yılmaz Erdoğan Yılmaz Erdoğan (born 4 November 1967) is a Turkish filmmaker, actor and poet who is most famous for his box-office record-breaking debut comedy film '' Vizontele'' (2001) and the television series ''Bir Demet Tiyatro'' (1995–2002/2006–2007 ...

's movie ''

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 ...

'' is in fact an imaginary depiction inspired by Sam's life.

Other activities

Leman Sam is an environmentalist and is known for her activities in favor of human rights and animal rights. In order to support the process of resolving the Kurdish problem, a democratic initiative was held in 2009 which featured a program called the "Art for Peace Initiative" consisting of 282 artists including Sam. Sam participated in projects to raise awareness about

Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...

's effects on Turkey, and on its 23rd anniversary she gave a concert at the anti-nuclear rally in

Sinop, Turkey Sinop, historically known as Sinope (, ), is a city on the isthmus of İnce Burun, Gökçeada, İnce Burun (İnceburun, Cape Ince) and on the Boztepe Peninsula, near Cape Sinope (Sinop Burnu, Boztepe Cape, Boztepe Burnu) which is situated on the ...

, under the motto "Don't Forget Chernobyl, Own the Future". In 2013, on the decision of cutting of trees for construction of artillery barracks in

Taksim Gezi Park Gezi Park is an urban park next to Taksim Square, in Istanbul's Beyoğlu district (historically known as Pera). It is one of the last green spaces in Beyoğlu and one of the smallest parks of Istanbul. In May 2013, plans to replace the park with ...

, she said on her Twitter account "If the nation do not give a lesson to these people in the elections and bring them back to power, the beautiful lands of Anatolia will see their end." She dedicated the song "Ağıt" on her official Twitter account to of "All children murdered" at the protests, referring to Berkin Elvan, who died at the age of 15 after the police hit him in the head with a tear gas pod during the

Gezi Park protests A wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Turkey began on 28 May 2013, initially to contest the urban development plan for Istanbul's Gezi Park. The protests were sparked by outrage at the violent eviction of a sit-in at the park protesting ...

. Sam criticized police officers, who attacked the protesters following the Soma mine disaster, on her Twitter saying "Customize it, cover it up, cause deaths, attack those who protest with pepper gas, and as if it's not enough, beat and kill them!". In the same year, on the

Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second of the two main festivals in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr. It falls on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar. Celebrations and observances are generally carried forward to the ...

she addressed the issue of slaughtering animals by Muslims on her Twitter account in Turkey "For me what

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

does o peopleis the same as what these people do by putting blades on an innocent animal's throat."

Discography

Albums

*1988: ''Livaneli Şarkıları'' *1990: ''Çağrı'' *1992: ''Ayak Sesleri'' *1994: ''Eski Fotoğraflar'' *1998: ''İlla'' *2012: ''Nereye Kadar''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sam, Leman Turkish women pop singers 1951 births Turkish folk singers Turkish pop singers Living people