In Memoriam | Sevda Ferdağ (1942-2024)

Sevda Ferdağ died at her home in Cihangir, Istanbul, on February 17, 2024, at the age of 81. Ferdağ, who made significant contributions to Turkish cinema throughout her 81-year life adventure, had been struggling with health problems for a long time

Mavi Boncuk | 

Sevda Ferdağ (15 August 1942, Balıkesir - 17 February 2024, Istanbul), Turkish actress, theater artist and singer.

Her birth name was Lütfiye Dumrul. She spent her childhood in Istanbul. She lost her father when she was in primary school. She was encouraged to act by her family, who valued art and wanted their children to become artists. He was introduced to cinema as a result of the pressure of his mother and his older sister, actress Ferda Ferdağ.

In 1958, when she was only 16 years old, she stepped into Turkish cinema with the movie After That Day. After the failure of her first film and the unattractive working conditions, she went to Germany with her sister. Here, She became a model for the cover pages of many magazines and received acting offers from many movie managers. When she missed her hometown, Istanbul, she returned to Turkey five years later. In 1963, she appeared in Yeşilçam again with the movie Azrael's Messenger. In 1964, she played the role of a belly dancer in Halit Refiğ's film Gurbet Kuşları.

The Yeşilçam sex craze, which emerged after the second half of the 1970s, also affected Sevda Ferdağ. In addition to comedy and arabesque films, popular movies also attracted attention. During this period, Ferdağ took part in films such as Hop Dedik Kazım and Şöhret Budalası. Ferdağ, who stays away from being an actor with rules, has appeared in more than 150 films in fifty years. She played the roles of "vamp woman who seduces men" in many productions.

In 1979, she won the Best Actress award at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival for her role as Nesrin in the movie Senile Son Defa. In 1998, she was awarded the Golden Orange Best Supporting Actress award for her role in the movie Ağır Roman. At the 2003 Sadri Alışık Theater and Cinema Actor Awards, he was given the Honorary Award together with Orhan Aksoy. 

In 2009, she was given the Golden Orange Lifetime Honor Award together with Vedat Türkali, Ülkü Erakalın and Yalçın Tura. Ferdağ said that he received his award on behalf of Halit Refiğ.

Sevda Ferdağ, who played the leading role in living room comedies and "soap bubble" films and supporting actress roles in more permanent films, worked as a singer in Fahrettin Aslan's casinos to make a living during a period when interest in Turkish films decreased.