Damla Sönmez

Damla Sönmez was born on May 3, 1987, in Istanbul, Turkey. Her maternal family is of Abkhazian descent, while her paternal grandparents are of Circassian origin. She graduated from Saint Joseph French High School and later studied theater at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University (Paris III) in Paris. After returning to Istanbul, she received a scholarship to study at the Theater Department of Yeditepe University. She also participated in workshops in London and New York. She is fluent in French and English. Her breakthrough came in 2009 with the film "Bornova Bornova," for which she won the Golden Orange Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as awards at the Flying Broom Festival and the Sadri Alışık Awards. For her role in "Sibel" (2018), she received numerous Best Actress awards, including at film festivals in Seattle, London, Adana (Altın Koza), and Antalya, as well as the SIYAD (Turkish Film Critics Association) Award and the Sadri Alışık Award. On television, she played Gülru in "Güllerin Savaşı" (War of the Roses, 2014-2016), Efsun in "Çukur" (The Pit, 2019-2021), and Dilruba in "Aziz" (2021-2022). In 2017, she appeared in an episode of the anthology "7 Yüz" (7 Faces), and in 2020, in the docudrama "Rise of Empires: Ottoman" on Netflix. In addition to acting, she is also a producer and advocates for animal rights and nature protection.