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Meral Onuktas Çetinkaya is a prominent Turkish actress with a distinguished career spanning theatre, television, and cinema, securing her a respected position in contemporary Turkish performing arts. After completing her education, which included ballet training and Art History studies in the United States through a scholarship, she returned to Turkey and discovered theatre almost by chance while working as a translator for a visiting director. This experience led her to formal stage training at LCC and further artistic development under Beklan Algan, before she began performing with Dostlar Tiyatrosu from 1969 onward. Over time, she established a strong reputation on stage through collaborations with notable theatre companies such as Dostlar Tiyatrosu, Kenterler Tiyatrosu, and Bakirköy Belediye Tiyatrolari, where her performances earned her significant theatrical accolades. She debuted on screen in the early 1970s, quickly gaining recognition as a talented character actress, receiving early praise for Hazal (1979) and later acclaim for roles in landmark films like A Sip of Love (1984), Don't Let Them Shoot the Kite (1989), and Vizontele (2001). On television, she became widely recognized through the beloved long-running series Bizimkiler (1989), where her role as Ayla Hanim made her a familiar figure to multiple generations of viewers. After the series concluded, she continued to work consistently in film and television, featuring in productions such as Time Goes By (2010), The Pit (2017), and The Gift (2019), while maintaining her reputation as a serious stage actress. Theatre remained central to her artistic identity, with performances in productions like Sezuan'in Iyi Insanlari and Oyunun Sonu reinforcing her prominence, including appearances at international festivals and receiving major stage honors. Throughout her decades-long career, she has been recognized with prestigious acting and lifetime achievement awards, including the Bilge Olgaç Achievement Award and the Cinema Honor Award at the Istanbul Film Festival, highlighting a career marked by consistency, artistic versatility, and enduring cultural influence.
