Çağla Kubat

Çağla Kubat — Biography

Çağla Kubat is one of the few Turkish public figures to straddle screen and sport: a mechanical engineering graduate, professional windsurfer, model and actress. Her main identity in windsurfing continues through the surf school she founded in Alaçatı, while on screen she is best remembered as Commissioner Elif in Arka Sokaklar.

She finished the Italian High School in Istanbul at the top of her class and graduated in mechanical engineering from Istanbul Technical University before entering beauty pageants; she was runner-up at Miss Turkey and represented Turkey at Miss Universe. She then put windsurfing first: she raced for the Fenerbahçe sailing section, won Turkish titles, took the IFCA European Slalom Championship in Alaçatı in 2005 and competed on the PWA World Tour from 2006. In 2012 she placed third at the world slalom championship, and in 2013 she became IFCA masters women's slalom world champion.

As an actress she began with Sağır Oda and Kuzey Rüzgârı, held the lead in Arka Sokaklar from 2009 to 2011, and also appeared in O Hayat Benim. She is a granddaughter of former Interior Minister Ferit Kubat. She is married to the American windsurfer Jimmy Diaz; the couple's surf school in Alaçatı was damaged in the İzmir wildfires of July 2025.