# Hazal Kaya

Leyla Hazal Kaya (born 1 October 1990) is a Turkish actress best known for her leading roles in Aşk-ı Memnu (2008–2010), Adını Feriha Koydum (2011–2012) and Bizim Hikaye (2017–2019).
Kaya is one of Turkey's highest-paid actresses. She received several accolades and was the only Turkish recipient of the "Lebanon Awards 2015" award. She made her acting debut with a guest role in Acemi Cadı. Kaya gain popularity for Nihal Ziyagil in a modern-day adaptation of the novel Aşk-ı Memnu, written by Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil.
She is best known for playing the role of Feriha Sarrafoglu, Adını Feriha Koydum (2011–2012) and won 2nd Crystal Mouse Media Awards for Best Actress. The series had one of the highest TV ratings in Turkey. She further known for playing Filiz Elibol in Bizim Hikaye (inspired by the British TV show Shameless) (2017–2019) for which she received highly acclaimed and Latina Turkish Awards for Best Actress respectively.
Kaya also plays the lead character Esra / Peride in the time travel historical drama series Midnight at the Pera Palace (2022). The show was premiered on Netflix. She married actor Ali Atay in 2019; they have two children together.

## Early life

Kaya was born in Konya, Turkey. She attended Gaziosmanpaşa elementary school and graduated in 2009 from the Liceo Italiano di Istanbul. She enrolled in Istanbul Bilgi University for her higher education. Her parents, who are both lawyers, divorced when she was 7 years old. She was introduced to the art and acting world at a very young age, and as a child she took ballet and violin lessons for 7 years. Kaya speaks Italian and English fluently, in addition to her native language Turkish. She was also said to be learning a fourth language, German.

## Career
### Early work (2006–2011)

Kaya started her acting career in 2006 with TV series Genco. She played the character of Özge (Gülay Erkaya). She had guest roles in fantasy series Acemi Cadı of Turkish version "Sabrina Teenage Witch", popular series Sıla, "Taşların Sırrı". In 2008, Kaya played Nihal Ziyagil in a modern-day adaptation of the novel Aşk-ı Memnu, written by Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil. co-starring Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ and Beren Saat. She had her cinematic debut in Selçuk Aydemir's movie Çalgı Çengi in 2011.
At the same time she took lessons from Ayla Algan in drama. She then joined Ümit Çırak Modern Acting Techniques Workshop and took acting lessons from Ümit Çırak himself.

### Career progression (2012–2016)

Kaya's turning point came when she starring in the first two seasons of the TV series Adını Feriha Koydum (2011) as the lead character, Feriha Yilmaz. She played the role of a porter's daughter trapped between two lives and falls in love with the most popular student at her university, a rich and handsome boy "Emir Sarrafoğlu" (Çağatay Ulusoy). The series had one of the highest TV ratings in Turkey and received highly acclaimed. Later, together with her mother Ayşegül Kaya, she appeared in the commercials for Bingo. In the late 2012, she left the cast of Adını Feriha Koydum and starred in a new series called Son Yaz Balkanlar 1912, portraying the character Emine. However, the series ended after a few episodes due to low ratings.
She later appeared in the 2013 series A.Ş.K and played the character of Azra Özak, a tennis coach. That series also ended after 13 episodes. In 2015 she appeared in Maral: En Güzel Hikayem, opposite Aras Bulut İynemli. She played the leading character Maral Erdem.

### Established actress (2017–present)

After a break of one year, she starred in TV show Bizim Hikaye (in English: Our Story), which is the Turkish adaptation of the American TV series Shameless. In this TV show Kaya plays "Filiz Elibol Aktan", (a young girl forced to take care of her five younger siblings after her mother left the lower-class family) opposite actor Burak Deniz. Writing for Vatan, "She reacted positively to Hazal Kaya's acting, stating while watching Filiz on the screen". The series received positive response and kaya's performance was highly acclaimed and teamed as "remarkable" and received several accolades including 19th Internet Media Best of the Year Awards for Best Actress and Latina Turkish Awards for Best Series Pair (Burak Deniz). The series was aired in variety of languages.
As of 2021, she shares the leading roles with Bugra Gulsoy and Ozan Dolunay in the TV series Misafir, an adaptation of the Japanese TV series Oasis. Since 2010, she appears as Behzat's dead daughter "Berna" in some episodes and film of hit crime series Behzat Ç.

## Personal life

She married actor Ali Atay on 6 February 2019, and gave birth to their son later that year. Their daughter was born in February 2023. In April 2023, prosecutors demanded that Kaya be imprisoned for two years and four months for a tweet in which she allegedly had insulted a Turkish sergeant who was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for having raped Ipek Er.

## In the media

Kaya is one of Turkey's highest-paid actresses. Ichaps, having chosen the most important names of 2014 in many categories, included Hazal Kaya among the "most influential names in the world" and granted her the medal of international excellence in the category of artists. According to the results of a survey conducted on the United Arab Emirates-based MBC channels, which ranked Turkish series and special programs, she ranked 4th on the list of most admired Turkish women artists. At the same time, official surveys covering the August 2010–August 2015 period, taken in 35 countries, placed her 6th on the list of 10 most popular actresses. She was also the only Turkish recipient of the "Lebanon Awards 2015" award. According to the results obtained from 35 countries between May 2011 and May 2016, Kaya was the 6th most popular actress. In May 2016, she rose to number five on the list. The website World's Most Beautifuls ranked her fifth on the list of 10 most beautiful women of 2016.

## Filmography
### Films

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2011 | Çalgı Çengi | Young girl at the warehouse | Special guest appearance |
| 2011 | Behzat Ç. Seni Kalbime Gömdüm | Berna Ç. | Special guest appearance |
| 2011 | Ay Büyürken Uyuyamam | Hülya | Leading role |
| 2012 | Bu Son Olsun | Lale | Leading role |
| 2013 | Mavi Dalga | Arzu | Supporting role |
| 2014 | İtirazım Var | Zeynep Bulut | Leading role |
| 2015 | Kırık Kalpler Bankası | Aslım | Leading role |
| 2022 | Benden Ne Olur? | Sertab Bal | Leading role |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006–2007 | Acemi Cadı | Pelin | Guest appearance |
| 2006 | Taşların Sırrı | Bengü | Guest appearance |
| 2006–2008 | Sıla | Berrin | Guest appearance |
| 2007–2008 | Genco | Özge (Gülay Erkaya) | supporting role |
| 2008–2010 | Aşk-ı Memnu | Nihal Ziyagil | supporting role |
| 2010 | Behzat Ç. Bir Ankara Polisiyesi | Berna Ç. | Guest appearance |
| 2011–2012 | Adını Feriha Koydum | Feriha Yılmaz Sarrafoğlu | Leading role |
| 2012 | Son Yaz-Balkanlar 1912 | Emine | Leading role |
| 2013 | A.Ş.K. | Azra Özak | Leading role |
| 2015 | Maral: En Güzel Hikayem | Maral Erdem | Leading role |
| 2017–2019 | Bizim Hikaye | Filiz Elibol Aktan | Leading role |
| 2020 | Menajerimi Ara | Herself | Guest appearance |
| 2021 | Misafir | Gece / Güneş | Leading role |

### Web series

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2022– | Midnight at the Pera Palace | Esra / Peride | Leading role |

## Other work and image
### In advertising

| Year | Commercials |
| 2006 | Tofita |
| 2007 | Nescafé |
| 2007 | Molped |
| 2007 | Turkcell |
| 2008 | Eti Burçak |
| 2010 | Penti |
| 2012 | Bingo |
| 2014 | Lux Arabia |
| 2020–2021 | İstegelsin |
| 2021 | Önlem Bebek Bezi |

### In music videos

| Year | Music video |
| 2008 | Aslı Güngör - "İzmir Bilir Ya" |
| 2011 | Selçuk Balcı - "Deniz Üstünde Fener" |
| 2017 | Çağatay Akman - "Bizim Hikaye" with Burak Deniz |
| 2018 | Cihan Mürtezaoğlu - "Bizim Hikaye" with Burak Deniz |

## Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations :
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
| 2010 | Kavram Olympic Awards | Best Young Actress | Won |
| 2011 | Ayaklıgazete.com Awards | The Most Beautiful Actress | Won |
| 2011 | Dizifilm.com Oscars | Best Drama Actress | Won |
| 2012 | Ayaklıgazete.com Awards | Best Actress in History Series | Nominated |
| 2012 | Televizyondizisi.com Awards | Most Popular Actress | Nominated |
| 2012 | Sosyalmedya.cc Awards | Best Actress | Won |
| 2012 | Eniyiyisec.com Awards | Best Actress | Won |
| 2012 | Bakmoda.com Awards | Best Actress | Won |
| 2013 | Sayidaty Arab Journal | Best Turkish Female Star | Won |
| 2013 | 2nd Crystal Mouse Media Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2013 | MagaziMedya.com | Turkey's Most Beautiful Screen Face | Nominated |
| 2013 | Gazete5.com | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2013 | Sizcene.com Awards | The Most Beautiful TV Actress in Turkey | Won |
| 2013 | Magazincity.com Awards | Best Actress on TV | Won |
| 2013 | Politics Magazine Awards | TV Actress of the Year | Nominated |
| 2013 | YılınFenomeni.com | Phenomenon Actress of the Year | Nominated |
| 2013 | OMÜ 3rd Media Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2014 | Ayaklıgazete.com Awards | Best Drama Actress | Nominated |
| 2014 | 2nd Düzce University Media Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2014 | 5th KTÜ Media Awards | The Most Admired Actress | Nominated |
| 2014 | Bilgisefi.com | The Most Beautiful Actress in Turkey | Nominated |
| 2014 | Felsebiyat Journal Cinema Nominees | The Actress of the Year | Nominated |
| 2014 | The Medal of Excellence for the Most Influential Figures in the World Awards | Medal of Excellence | Won |
| 2014 | Top 33 of The Most Beautiful Women on TV Awards | The Breathtaking Women | Won |
| 2015 | Lebanon Awards | Best Actress | Won |
| 2015 | TelevizyonDizisi.com Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2015 | Marie Claire Turkey | The Most Favorite Actress | Nominated |
| 2015 | Eurasia Best Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2015 | 4th Crystal Mouse Media Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2016 | 7th KTÜ Media Awards | The Most Admired Actress | Nominated |
| 2017 | Latina Turkish Awards | Best Kissing Scene (Hazal Kaya - Çağatay Ulusoy) | Won |
| 2017 | Turkey Youth Awards | Best TV Actress | Nominated |
| 2017 | Stars of the Year Awards | Most Popular Female TV Series | Nominated |
| 2018 | IU Student Council 1453 Awards | Best Actress of the Year | Nominated |
| 2019 | Latina Turkish Awards | Best Actress | Won |
| 2019 | Latina Turkish Awards | Best Series Pair (Hazal Kaya - Burak Deniz) | Won |
| 2019 | 19th Internet Media Best of the Year Awards | Best Actress | Won |
| 2019 | Istanbul Aydın University Communication Awards | Best Actress | Won |
| 2021 | Istanbul University 7th Golden 61 Awards | Best Advertising Face of the Year | Nominated |