Defne Kayalar

Defne Kayalar — Biography

Defne Kayalar was born in May 1975 in Ankara. After graduating from the Graphic Design Department of Bilkent University she worked as an assistant at Istanbul Bilgi University, having made her first acting appearance in the 1999 film Salkım Hanımın Taneleri. In 2003 she co-produced the series Alacakaranlık with Uğur Yücel, and in 2004 the film Yazı Tura. After roles in Keskin Bıçak and 20 Dakika, she reached a wide audience playing Sedef Kaya in the 2014 series Medcezir, marrying the show's director, Ali Bilgin, that same year. She went on to play Nesrin in Bu Şehir Arkandan Gelecek, appeared in the digital productions Fi and Dip, played Suzan Bayraktar in Hakan: Muhafız, the psychiatrist Peri in the Netflix series released in Turkey as Bir Başkadır, and Gül in Kuş Uçuşu, the last of which brought her recognition abroad. In 2024 she joined the series Yargı as prosecutor İclal, and in 2026 she won a best actress award for her performance in the film Aniden. Alongside her screen career she has appeared on stage in Berkun Oya's plays Babamın Cesetleri and Dünyada Karşılaşmış Gibi, and in Florian Zeller's play Anne.