Leyla Sayar

Leyla Sayar — Biography

Born in Istanbul to a Circassian mother and a father whose family had emigrated from Salonika, Leyla Sayar caught filmmakers' attention while studying at the American College for Girls and, in 1957, placed second in the Türkiye Güzellik Yarışması beauty contest organized by Yıldız magazine, a step that got her expelled from school. She made her screen debut in 1958 with Duvaklı Göl and quickly became one of the era's most sought-after "vamp" actresses, at one point shooting fourteen films in 1963 alone; over her career she appeared in close to 170 films, including Aşk ve Kin (1964) and Ankara Ekspresi (1970). She married Erdal Kasidecioğlu in 1974 and divorced him a year later. In 1976 she left the film industry and turned to religion, was kidnapped for ransom by a gang in 1980, and was detained by police in the 1990s over a religious ceremony held at her home; she also published several religiously themed books. Having given away most of the homes she owned to those in need, she spent her final years living alone in a bare apartment in Nişantaşı. Diagnosed with cancer in early 2016, she refused treatment and died in Istanbul on 22 July 2016 at the age of 76.