Filiz Akin, a celebrated Turkish film actress, writer and television presenter, regarded as an iconic figure of the Yesilcam era, a golden age of Turkish cinema, died aged 82 on March 21, 2025, in an Istanbul hospital. Her career and influence on Turkish film spanned decades, and she remained a well-known public figure throughout her life.

Filiz, born in 1943 as Suna Akin, rose to fame in 1962 after winning a beauty and talent competition. Between 1962 and 1975, she appeared in more than 100 Turkish films, often portraying modern, elegant and sophisticated women, roles that made her a defining screen presence of her generation.

She was frequently mentioned alongside other Yesilcam luminaries, such as Turkan Soray, Hulya Kocyigit and Fatma Girik, collectively known as the “four-leafed clover” of Turkish cinema. Her notable films include Ankara Ekspresi, Tatlı Dillim and Umutsuzlar, and she won acclaim for her performances.

Akin also worked as a columnist, television host and cultural ambassador. During the 1990s, she helped to promote Turkish culture abroad while living in Paris, after her husband Sonmez Koksal became the ambassador to France. Koksal headed the Turkish National Intelligence Agency between 1992 and 1998.

After a life in front of the cameras, Akin asked in her will for a funeral ceremony attended only by close relatives and friends. “My beloved wife, my life companion Filiz [Akin Koksal], passed away on the night of March 21 as a result of a long illness. In accordance with her wishes, all the religious rites were fulfilled, and she was laid to rest today in Asiyan Cemetery [in Istanbul] by her closest family members,” her husband, Koksal, announced on March 22.