Sabina Toziya

Sabina Toziya — Biography

Sabina Toziya (born Sabina Ajrula) was a Macedonian actress of Turkish descent, born in Skopje. Turkish viewers knew her as Hayriye Çakırbeyli, the stern matriarch of Eşkıya Dünyaya Hükümdar Olmaz. Most of a career spanning more than fifty years was spent in Macedonia and Yugoslavia, and she died in Skopje in 2021.

Unlike many Turkish families who emigrated to Turkey in the 1950s, hers stayed in Macedonia; although Turkish was her mother tongue, she was schooled in Macedonian. She trained at the Skopje State Theatre and worked on stage and as a voice artist. From 1969 she appeared on screen. Her Yugoslav-era work includes Crveniot Konj and Solunski Patridii (as Fatime); later she played Grozda in Salon Harmoni and Milica in Familijata Markovski. Late film roles include My Mother's Wound (Mevlide), Bal Kaymak (Havva) and the title role in Vera.

She reached Turkey through Afife Hatun in Muhteşem Yüzyıl, then from 2015 gained a broad audience as Hayriye Çakırbeyli. She left the series in early 2021 after a partial stroke linked to a brain tumour. She died on 10 August 2021, aged 75, and was buried in Skopje on 13 August.