Özcan Tekgül

Özcan Tekgül — Biography

Özcan Tekgül was a Turkish belly dancer and Yeşilçam film actress born on 15 January 1941 in Istanbul; some sources list her birth year as 1938 or 1939. Active on stage and screen between 1955 and 1986, she became known for her signature performance piece, the "Ateş Dansı" ("Dance of Fire"), and appeared in roughly 28 Turkish films during her career.

In 1980, after 25 years in the profession, Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism awarded her an honorary certificate, a gesture that stirred controversy in certain circles at the time. She spent her later years out of the public eye, and by the time of her death in Antalya on 2 July 2011, reports noted that she had no close next of kin.