# Melis Sezen

Melis Sezen (born 2 January 1997) is a Turkish actress. She is best known for her roles in Tainted Love (2019), The Miracle 2: Love (2019), The Unfaithful (2020–2022), Gülcemal (2023–2024), and Genius (2024–present). In 2021, Sezen won the Golden Butterfly Award for Rising Star.

## Life and career

Sezen was born on 2 January 1997 in Silivri, Istanbul, and completed her high school education at Selimpaşa Atatürk Anatolian High School. Her paternal family members are Macedonian Albanian immigrants, while her maternal family members are Turkish descent who immigrated from Thessaloniki, Greece. Sezen has a younger brother and her family engages in trade. In an interview, she mentioned that her family was supportive of her decision to start working as a theatre actress, and in another interview she adds that it was her mother who discovered her interest in acting and enrolled her in Müjdat Gezen Art Center. Sezen received drama education from the age of 12, and received theater education for one year in Müjdat Gezen Art Center. Then she acquired a role in the play Cümbüş-ü Hospital at Ali Solmaz Theatre in Silivri. Meanwhile, she continued her education and graduated from Koç University, Department of Media and Visual Arts. Between 2016 and 2017, she made her TV debut with a role in the series Hayat Bazen Tatlıdır.
Between 2017 and 2018, she played the role of "Ebru" in the TV series Siyah İnci. In 2018, she made her cinematic film with a number of independent films. She first starred in the movie Dünya Hali, followed by Tilki Yuvası. After these movies, she had her first serious cinematic role in Bizim İçin Şampiyon, which tells the story of racehorse Bold Pilot and jokey Halis Karataş. In 2019, she had a leading role in the TV series Leke, playing the role of "Yasemin". This was followed by another leading role in Sevgili Geçmiş, in which she portrayed the character "Deren". Also in 2019, she landed a role in the movie Mucize 2: Aşk and played the role of "Beren". In the same year, Sezen also ranked among the first 100 names on IMDb's Starmetre list.
In 2020, she played the leading character "Nazan" in the historical mini series Ya İstiklal Ya Ölüm, which covers the occupation of Constantinople, the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, the Kuva-yi Milliye movement led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the establishment processes of a new national assembly in Ankara. She also had a role in the movie Kovala, which was initially set to be released on 17 April 2020, but following the new measures enforced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic the premiere date was pushed to a later date. Between 2020 and 2022, she shared the leading role with Cansu Dere and Caner Cindoruk in the Kanal D series Sadakatsiz, a local adaptation of Doctor Foster.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Original title | Role | Director | Notes |
| 2018 | The Way of the Wind | Dünya Hali | Gizem | Ömer Can | Leading role |
| 2018 | Champion | Bizim İçin Şampiyon | Esra Atman | Ahmet Katıksız | Supporting role |
| 2019 | The Miracle 2: Love | Mucize 2: Aşk | Beren | Mahsun Kırmızıgül | Supporting role |
| 2021 | Kovala | Kovala | Merve | Burak Kuka | Main role |
| 2021 | Fox Nest | Tilki Yuvasi | Aylin | Umut Burçin Gülseçgin | Main role |
| 2024 | A Republic Song | Bir Cumhuriyet Şarkısı | Mediha | Yağız Alp Akaydın | Main role |
| 2024 | Sassy | Şımarık | Asena | Onur Ünlü | Leading role |
| TBA | Masha's Mushroom | Masha's Mushroom | Alex | White Cross | Pre-production |

### Web

| Year | Title | Original title | Role | Platform | Notes |
| 2019 | Sincere Voices Choir | İçten Sesler Korosu | Öykü | YouTube | Main role; 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Fatma | Fatma | Hayat Kadını | Netflix | Cameo; 1 episode |
| TBA | Nomen | Nomen | Duru | Disney+ | Leading role |

### Television

| Year | Title | Original title | Role | Network | Notes |
| 2016–2017 | Life Is Sweet Sometimes | Hayat Bazen Tatlidir | Asya Turan | Star TV | Main role; 26 episodes |
| 2017–2018 | Black Pearl | Siyah İnci | Ebru | Star TV | Main role; 20 episodes |
| 2019 | Tainted Love | Leke | Yasemin Adıvar | Kanal D | Leading role; 9 episodes |
| 2019 | Dear Past | Sevgili Geçmis | Deren Kutlu | Star TV | Main role; 8 episodes |
| 2020 | Either Freedom or Death | Ya İstiklal Ya Ölüm | Nazan Hanım | TRT 1 | Main role; 12 episodes |
| 2020–2022 | The Unfaithful | Sadakatsiz | Derin Güçlü | Kanal D | Main role; 40 episodes |
| 2022 | The Masked Singer Turkey | Maske Kimsin Sen? | Herself | Fox | Reality competition; 9 episodes |
| 2023–2024 | Gülcemal | Gülcemal | Deva Nakkaşoğlu | Fox | Leading role; 41 episodes |
| 2024–present | Genius | Deha | İmre Karan | Show TV | Main role |