Melike İpek Yalova

Melike İpek Yalova — Biography

Melike İpek Yalova is a Turkish actress and model born in Istanbul on April 29, 1984. She is the daughter of Yüksel Yalova, a former minister of state, lawyer, and academic. Working in television series and film since 2011, Yalova became widely known through productions such as Muhteşem Yüzyıl, Karadayı, and Bir Zamanlar Çukurova.

She completed her education in the Department of International Relations at Bilkent University, then went to Italy, where she studied international politics and crisis management at La Sapienza University in Rome. Alongside her academic background, Yalova also took private acting lessons, and it was after this training that she stepped in front of the camera.

She began acting in 2011 with the series Muhteşem Yüzyıl, playing the Castilian princess Isabella Fortuna in the historical drama; this recurring role brought her first wide recognition. In Karadayı, which ran from 2012 to 2015, she took one of the lead roles, playing the character Ayten Alev in the series directed by Uluç Bayraktar and also featuring Bergüzar Korel.

In subsequent years she appeared in shorter roles in the series Hayat Şarkısı in 2016, Çember in 2017, and İnsanlık Suçu in 2018; in İnsanlık Suçu she played the character Cevher Akışık alongside Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan and Deniz Uğur. In Çember she worked with Anıl Altan, Barış Bağcı, and Pelin Akil, and in Hayat Şarkısı with a large cast that included Burcu Biricik and Filiz Ahmet.

The most talked-about work of her career was Bir Zamanlar Çukurova, which began airing on atv in 2018. Playing the character Müjgan in the series, directed by Faruk Teber, the actress was among the leading names in a large cast that included İbrahim Çelikkol, Hilal Altınbilek, Esra Dermancıoğlu, Furkan Palalı, Hande Soral, Altan Gördüm, and Bülent Polat. In 2021 she appeared before viewers as the character Büge Yeşari in the series Mahkum, starring Onur Tuna and İsmail Hacıoğlu, whose cast also included Hayal Köseoğlu, Seray Kaya, and Nihal Koldaş.

In her private life, Yalova married Altuğ Gültan, and this marriage was reported in the press as a surprise wedding.