Deniz Akkaya

{{Promotional tone|date=October 2023}} {{Short description|Turkish model}} {{Infobox model | name = Deniz Akkaya | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = | residence = | nationality = | other_names = | citizenship = | alma_mater = Istanbul University | occupation = {{flatlist| * Actress * businesswoman * editor * entrepreneur * model * presenter}} | years_active = 1996–present | known_for = Best Model of Turkey 1997 | children = 1 | parents = | relatives = | height = 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | hair_colour = Auburn-dark brown (coloured; naturally light brown) | eye_colour = Greyish-blue | agency = | module = {{Infobox pageant titleholder | child = yes | weight =  | measurements = | dress_size = | collar = | suit = | shoe_size = | title = "Best Model of Turkey 1997" | competitions = Best Model of Turkey (winner)<br />Elite Model Look }} | website = {{URL|DenizAkkaya.com.tr}} }}

'''Deniz Akkaya''' is a Turkish top model, presenter, occasional fashion editor and disc jockey, entrepreneur, businesswoman, and actress who won Best Model of Turkey 1997. As the top-earning model in Turkey in the early 2000s, Deniz Akkaya is considered to be one of the most leading models in Turkish fashion history,<ref name="Circassian">{{cite news |date=21–28 January 2012 |title=Çerkes olmakla övünüyorum |trans-title=I pride on being Circassian |url=http://www.posta.com.tr/cumartesipostasi/HaberDetay/-Cerkez-olmakla-ovunuyorum-.htm?ArticleID=106616 |language=tr |newspaper=Posta |access-date=12 May 2016}}</ref> and one of the most beautiful women of the country.<ref name="haberturk">{{cite news |last=Sabuncuoğlu |first=Ömür |date=28 September 2014 |title=Türkiye'nin En Güzel Kadınlarından Biri Olan Deniz Akkaya, Kızı Ayşe'nin Doğumundan Sonra Değişen Yaşamını HT Magazin'e Anlattı |url=http://www.haberturk.com/magazin/ozel-roportajlar/haber/994589-ben-yaslanmayacagim |newspaper=Habertürk |access-date=25 June 2016}}</ref><ref name="teknokule">{{cite web |url=http://www.teknokule.com/magazin/deniz-akkaya-evlenmek-icin-3-milyon-harcadi-deniz-akkaya-fotograflari-bilinmeyenleri-92039.html |title=Deniz Akkaya Ev'lenmek İçin 3 Milyon Harcadı! |date=8 November 2015 |publisher=Teknokule |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513090444/http://teknokule.com/magazin/deniz-akkaya-evlenmek-icin-3-milyon-harcadi-deniz-akkaya-fotograflari-bilinmeyenleri-92039.html |archive-date=13 May 2016 |access-date=25 June 2016 }}</ref>

==Early life and family== Akkaya is Circassian,<ref name="Circassian"/> the daughter of a Hatuqwai father and a Kabardian mother named Dinemyis (Adyghe: ''Apple of the eye'').

Her father was a bureaucrat and master mariner who served as the CEO (managing director) of Turkish Maritime Facilities Inc. Her mother was an economist who worked for Turkish Airlines, the national flag carrier of Turkey. She studied American philology.<ref name="Hürriyet"/>{{Where|date=July 2020}}

After graduating from the ISTEK SS Private High School on the Avenue in Kadıköy, she studied American Culture and Literature in Department of Western Languages and Literatures of Faculty of Letters at Istanbul University. Following the competitions Elite Model Look<ref name="Hürriyet"/> and Best Model of Turkey, she decided to embark on a professional modelling career.

==Modelling career and fashion== In 2006, Akkaya became the host and lead judge of the fashion-themed reality television show ''Turkey's Next Top Model'', the Turkish counterpart of the ''Top Model'' franchise that was hosted by many supermodels, including Tyra Banks in the United States and Heidi Klum in Germany.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

In 2015, she was also entered in the Best of the Best as one of the ''Habertürk''{{'s}} top 20 winners of the Best Model of Turkey competition, and finished first amongst the former female titleholders who found entry in the large-scale survey that lasted for fifteen days.<ref>{{cite news |date=9 May 2015 |title=Habertürk'ten dev anket! Best of the Best kim? |url=http://www.haberturk.com/magazin/magazin/haber/1076334-haberturkten-dev-anket-best-of-the-best-kim |newspaper=Habertürk |access-date=12 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=11 May 2015 |title=Best of the Best'e oy yağıyor |url=http://www.haberturk.com/magazin/magazin/haber/1076805-best-of-the-beste-oy-yagiyor |newspaper=Habertürk |access-date=12 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=12 May 2015 |title=Best of the Best anketine büyük ilgi |url=http://www.haberturk.com/magazin/herkes-bunu-konusuyor/haber/1077265-best-of-the-best-anketine-buyuk-ilgi |newspaper=Habertürk |access-date=12 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=16 May 2015 |title=Best of the Best anketi devam ediyor |url=http://www.haberturk.com/magazin/magazin/haber/1079187-best-of-the-best-anketi-devam-ediyor |newspaper=Habertürk |access-date=12 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=17 May 2015 |title=Deniz Akkaya |url=http://www.haberturk.com/magazin/herkes-bunu-konusuyor/haber/1079572-deniz-akkaya-best-of-model-gunlerime-dondum |newspaper=Habertürk |access-date=12 May 2016}}</ref>

==Acting career== After being crowned Best Model of Turkey 1997, Akkaya decided to embark on a professional modelling career.<ref name="Milliyet">{{cite news |url=http://www.milliyet.com.tr/Pazar/HaberDetay.aspx?aType=HaberDetayArsiv&KategoriID=26&ArticleID=212038 |title=Deniz Akkaya, Sema Şimşek, Güzide Duran, Şenay Akay, Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ, Kenan İmirzalıoğlu ve daha nice ünlü manken ve oyuncu… |trans-title=Deniz Akkaya, Sema Şimşek, Güzide Duran, Şenay Akay, Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ, Kenan İmirzalıoğlu, and many other famous model and acting personalities… |newspaper=Milliyet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305013925/http://www.milliyet.com.tr/Pazar/HaberDetay.aspx?aType=HaberDetayArsiv&KategoriID=26&ArticleID=212038 |language=Turkish |archive-date=5 March 2016 |access-date=25 June 2016 }}</ref> As a film and television actress, she has acted in the films ''The Masked Gang: Cyprus'' (2007), ''Living & Dying'' (2007), ''School'' (2003), ''Vizontele Tuuba'' (2003), and ''Green Light'' (2002) in addition to the television series ''Hemşehrim'' (1996), ''Şarkılar Seni Söyler'' (2003), and ''Metro Palas'' (2004). She also served as editor for a fashion magazine and launched the children's luxury ready-to-wear store Chic Frog by Deniz Akkaya.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

==Personal life== In 2009, she gave birth to her daughter in Miami, Florida, US.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Hürriyet |date=24 September 2004 |title=Kızımın kordonunu kendim kestim |url=http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/deniz-akkaya-kizimin-kordonunu-kendim-kestim-27260157 |access-date=12 May 2016}}</ref>

==Filmography== ===Film=== {| Class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Film ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2002 | ''Green Light'' | | |- | 2003 | ''Vizontele Tuuba'' | Deniz Kızı (''Mermaid'') | |- | 2003 | ''School'' | Philosophy teacher Alev | Lead |- | 2007 | ''Living & Dying'' | Anne Noble | |- | 2007 | ''The Masked Gang: Cyprus'' | Bilge | Lead |- | 2021 | ''The Chaos Class Summer Games'' | | |- |}

===Television=== {| Class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1996 | ''Hemşehrim'' | | |- | 2003 | ''Şarkılar Seni Söyler'' | Ayten Boralı | Lead |- | 2004 | ''Metro Palas'' | Yelda | Lead |- | 2006 | ''Turkey's Next Top Model'' | Herself | Host and lead judge |- | 2015–2016 | ''Deniz Akkaya ile Yeniden Ben'' | Herself | Host |- | 2015–2016 | ''Aramızda Kalmasın'' | Herself | Co-host |- | 2016 | ''O Bana Çok Benzer'' | Herself | Episode 1 |- | 2016–2017 | ''Duymayan Kalmasın'' | Herself | Co-host |- |}

==References== {{reflist|colwidth=30em|refs= <ref name="Hürriyet">{{cite news |date=10 January 2000 |title=Uyuz oldum hırs yaptım! |url=http://hurarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/goster/ShowNew.aspx?id=-125067 |newspaper=Hürriyet |access-date=12 May 2016}}</ref>

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==External links== * {{official website|DenizAkkaya.com.tr}} * {{IMDb name|1147581}}

{{S-start}} {{S-ach}} {{succession box | title = Best Model of Turkey (female) | years = 1997 | before = Güzide Duran | after = Burcu Kutluk }} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akkaya, Deniz}} Category:1977 births Category:20th-century Turkish actresses Category:21st-century Turkish actresses Category:Actresses from Istanbul Category:Best Model of the World contestants Category:Best Model of Turkey winners Category:Turkish businesspeople in fashion Category:Fashion editors Category:Women DJs Category:Living people Category:People from Kayseri Category:Retail company founders Category:Turkish female models Category:Turkish people of Circassian descent Category:21st-century Turkish women musicians Category:Women magazine editors Category:Turkish women editors Category:Turkish women bloggers Category:Turkish bloggers