Merve Dizdar (born 25 June 1986) is a Turkish actress. She is best known for her roles in ''War of the Eltis'' (2020), ''The Innocents'' (2020–2022), ''The Life and Movies of Erşan Kuneri'' (2022–present), and ''Snow and the Bear'' (2022). In 2020, she won the Golden Butterfly Award for Best Actress for her role in ''The Innocents''. Dizdar became the first Turkish actress to win the

Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress The Best Actress Award () is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival since 1946. It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and chosen by the jury from the films in official competition slate at the festival. A ...

for her performance in '' About Dry Grasses'' (2023).

Early life and career

Dizdar was born on 25 June 1986 in

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

. She is a graduate of

Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University (informally ''ÇOMÜ'') is a Turkish public research university located in Çanakkale province, near Gallipoli and its surrounding towns. It is a member of the Balkan Universities Network, the European Univers ...

School of Fine Arts with a degree in acting. She received her master's degree in acting from

Kadir Has University Kadir Has University (), often abbreviated as KHAS, is a private non-profit university in Fatih, Istanbul, established in 1997 by Kadir Has, the late Turkish industrialist and philanthropist.

. She started her career on stage by joining Semaver Company and continued it at Craft Theatre. Dizdar made her cinematic debut with ''Bir Ses Böler Geceyi'' (2011) alongside Cem Davran and pursued a career in television with recurring roles in the series ''

Kavak Yelleri ''Kavak Yelleri'' (literally "Poplar Winds", English title: Daydreaming) is a Turkish youth drama television series produced by TIMS Productions and Sony Pictures Television International. ''Kavak Yelleri'' is a Turkish remake of the American sh ...

'', ''

Geniş Aile ''Geniş Aile'' (in English: ''The Large Family'') is a Turkish comedy television series on Kanal D, which initially broadcast in 2009. Season Finale on 15 June 2010 and was run 49 episodes - 1 season. Season 2 premiere aired on 10 August 2010. Al ...

'', ''Bir Yastıkta'', ''Doksanlar'', ''Çılgın Dershane Üniversite'', and was first noted with her role in ''Beş Kardeş''. She also worked for TRT Children, presenting the programs ''Arkadaşım Bıdı'' and ''23 Nisan Şenliğe Doğru''. Dizdar won the Afife Jale Theatre Best Actress Award for her role in the play ''Yutmak''. She then joined the cast of hit series '' 7 Yüz'', ''

Vatanım Sensin ''Vatanım Sensin'' (, alternatively known as ''Wounded Love'' in English language, English) is a Turkish television drama set during the last years of Ottoman Empire and the Turkish War of Independence. The main character "Cevdet" is based on th ...

'', and ''

Mucize Doktor ''Mucize Doktor'' is a Turkish romantic medical drama series composed of 64 episodes divided into two seasons, that broadcast on FOX between September 12, 2019 to May 27, 2021. It is a remake of the South Korean serial '' Good Doctor'', which al ...

'' respectively. In 2020, she had a leading role with

Uraz Kaygılaroğlu Uraz Kaygılaroğlu (born 30 June 1987) is a Turkish actor, stand-up comedian and TV presenter. He is a graduate of Istanbul Bilgi University with a degree in commercials and advertising. Career TV series Kaygılaroğlu started his career in ...

in the

Gupse Özay Gupse Özay (born 30 July 1984) is a Turkish actress, scriptwriter and director. Life and career Gupse Özay was born in İzmir, Turkey. Her paternal family is of Abkhazian descent. Her maternal family is of Kabardian descent. Her mother is co ...

's comedy film '' Eltilerin Savaşı'', which as of April 2021 is the 22nd most-watched movie of all time in Turkey according to Box Office Türkiye. She shared the leading role with

Serenay Sarıkaya Serenay Sarıkaya (; born 1 July 1992) is a Turkish actress, model, and beauty pageant titleholder. She is known for the TV series ''Adanalı'', ''Lale Devri'', ''Medcezir'', and ''Aile (TV series), Aile''. She rose to international prominence w ...

Ezgi Mola Mercan Ezgi Mola (born 29 March 1983) is a Turkish actress who acted in several prominent Turkish movies and TV series. Biography Ezgi is known for her successful run in the cinema as well as theatre in her career. She has performed in an im ...

Enis Arıkan Enis Arıkan (born 3 January 1983) is a Turkish actor, comedian and TV presenter. Born in Istanbul, Arıkan took acting lessons at Müjdat Gezen Art Center and later graduated with a degree in Stage and Performing Arts from Istanbul Bilgi Univer ...

Şükrü Özyıldız Şükrü Özyıldız (born 18 February 1988) is a Turkish actor. He is best known for playing Onur Karasu in the series '' Ruhun Duymaz''. Early life Özyıldız was born in İzmir. The maternal side of his family is of Rûm descent who immigrate ...

in a musical adaptation of ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

''. In 2020, she began appearing in the series '' Masumlar Apartmanı'' and won the

Golden Butterfly Awards The Golden Butterfly Awards (Turkish: ''Altın Kelebek Ödülleri'') are annual Turkish music and television awards held since 1972. Sponsored by Pantene, winners are chosen by readers of the daily newspaper ''Hürriyet'', and the event is broad ...

Best Actress award. She played an actress and her many roles in the Netflix spinoff comedy series Erşan Kuneri. In 2023, she starred in

Nuri Bilge Ceylan Nuri Bilge Ceylan (; born 26 January 1959) is a Turkish director, screenwriter, photographer and actor. His film ''Winter Sleep (film), Winter Sleep'' (2014) won the Palme d'Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, 67th Cannes Film Festival, while s ...

's ''Kuru Otlar Üstüne'', becoming the first Turkish actress to win at the 76th Cannes Film Festival with the Best Actress award for her portrayal of a teacher. During her acceptance speech, Dizdar dedicated her award to Turkish women. She stated "all my sisters" who actively engage in strengthening the women's rights movement, displaying resilience and unwavering hope despite the challenges they face''. Ibrahim Uslu, the deputy chairman of the

Radio and Television Supreme Council Radio and Television Supreme Council (), also known in short as RTÜK, is the Turkish state agency for monitoring, regulating, and sanctioning radio and television broadcasts. RTÜK was founded in 1994 and is composed of nine members elected by ...

, accused Dizdar of undermining Turkey. The incident sparked reactions and debates within the country.

Filmography

Film

Web

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

* - "Most Successful Actress of the Year" - ''Yutmak'' - Craft Theatre - 2017 (nom) * - "Most Successful Actress of the Year" - ''Yutmak'' - Craft Theatre - 2017

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dizdar, Merve 1986 births Actresses from İzmir Turkish stage actresses Turkish television actresses Turkish film actresses Living people Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress winners