Leyla Sayar

Leyla Sayar — Biography

Leyla Sayar is remembered as one of the best-known faces of Yeşilçam's vamp and femme fatale roles, in a screen career that ran from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s. She said she appeared in about 170 films, and it is reported that in 1963 alone she made 14, a record. After leaving cinema for a religious life she also became known for the books she wrote.

She caught filmmakers' attention while still at college. She was chosen Caddebostan beach beauty, placed in the artist contest run by Yıldız magazine in 1957 and finished second in the Turkey beauty contest. She also trained for a time with the State Theatres in Ankara. Her film career began with titles such as Üç Garipler and Duvaklı Göl and gathered pace in the 1960s: Gümüş Gerdanlık, Şoförün Karısı, Dişi Örümcek, Şafak Bekçileri, Şehrazat, Aşk ve Kin and Suçlular Aramızda are among the main films of the decade. Ankara Ekspresi followed in 1970. In the early 1970s she also appeared on stage as a dancer, but the venture did not bring lasting success.

In 1976 she left cinema and devoted herself to religion and charity. Her books include Altın Kalem, Erdemin Sırları, Meleğin Sözleri, Mühür and Mürşit. She died on 22 July 2016 in Istanbul, at the Nişantaşı home where she had spent her last years, and was buried the next day at Merkezefendi Cemetery.