Ayça Aysin Turan

Ayça Aysin Turan, born and raised in Sinop, just kind of slipped into the acting world like it was inevitable. She kicked off her education at Istanbul University, diving into Radio, Cinema, and Television—pretty much the holy trinity for anyone looking to make a mark on Turkish screens. Before all that, she picked up some chops at the Sinop Municipal Conservatory. Not a bad place to find your groove, honestly. Her early days? She landed the role of Gülfem in "Dinle Sevgili" around 2011. It wasn’t exactly headline-grabbing, but hey, everyone starts somewhere, right? The real game-changer for her came with "Karagül," where she played Ada. That show dropped in 2013 and, let’s be real, it pretty much put her on the map. Suddenly, she wasn’t just another new face—people knew her name, and the industry definitely took notice. Fast-forward a bit, and you’ll see her jumping into her first feature film, "Sevimli Tehlikeli," directed by Özcan Deniz in 2015. Not many actors stick the landing on their first big movie, but she pulled it off. Then came her first leading role on TV as Meryem in the series "Meryem." Main character energy for days. If you thought she’d peak there, guess again. In 2018, she snagged a part in Netflix’s first Turkish Original, "The Protector," playing Leyla Sancak. Suddenly, she wasn’t just a Turkish star—she went global. Not too shabby for someone who started out in a small coastal city.