Tuğba Özay

Early biography

Özay was born in İstanbul on February 10, 1978. Her mother, a teacher and an author of textbooks specializing in mathematics and economics, is from Antalya and her father, also an award-winning author of textbooks used in primary schools across Turkey, as well as being a poet and a man of literature, is from Trabzon, making her, in her words "a blend of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea".

Raised in a family where education was the governing spirit, Tuğba Özay developed multiple interests since childhood, writing stories and plays for children as well as poetry, and all at the same time engaging in performing arts and sports. She started her theatre education at the age of seven in Kadıköy Public Education Centre's Experimental Stage, which she continues until she was fourteen. During this period she was also active in writing many plays and screenplays, showing these to her teachers.

She did her secondary studies in Fenerbahçe High School and then registered in the Conservatory -music and theater- Department of Haliç University, which she still attends between professional engagements.

In sports, she was a professional swimmer in Galatasaray for about ten years and then she became a trainer there for a time. But since she was too young then, the ambition for becoming a swimming trainer faded soon. However, after having been discovered by Fenerbahçe, she made a switch to volleyball and played volleyball professionally for about five years.

Tuğba is also an accomplished motorcycle rider. Since the age of eight she can drive a race motorcycle. She is also an expert in paragliding and Muay Thai. She took diving training at Istanbul Sailing Club. She retained an interested in arts also through this period and attended ballet and guitar courses in Istanbul University State Conservatory. During her school years she received a number of titles in art, music and writing competitions.

Early career in fashion

Tuğba Özay took her first steps into the world of fashion in a non-professional manner, having been selected in 1994 for a fashion show by the designer Ayla Eryüksel, well known in Turkey. Tuğba was soon remarked and shortly afterwards she started her truly professional career in fashion with a show by the Turkish clothing brand Vakko. In the same year of 1994, she also appeared on the TV serial "Sonradan Görmeler" (The Upstarts) broadcast on TRT, the national public broadcaster of Turkey.

In 1995, she was elected "Miss Model of Turkey", and then became the first runner-up to the Miss Model of the World in the final contest. She was also chosen in the contest as the contestant who had the best body. She pursued her modelling career in Paris for seven months in 1996 but later chose to concentrate on a more Turkey-oriented career. Following her return to Turkey, she made a contract with the panties brand Müjde Parizien and she became the "Parizien Leg Girl" for three years.

Tuğba Özay is still one of the busiest models of Turkey and is often referred to as "the Model of the Public" since she easily mixes with the crowds.

TV series

In 1997 and 1998, Tuğba Özay starred in the TV serials "Hemşerim" (My Countryman) and "Aynalı Tahir". At the end of 1999 she was noticed by the respected Turkish film director Türker İnanoğlu and through his advice and suggestions, she played important roles in such TV series as "Zehirli Çiçek" (Poisoned Flower), "Yapayalnız" (All Alone), "Bizim Hotel" (Our Hotel) and "Çiçek Taksi" in the following years. Pursuing her modelling career at the same time as starring in TV series, she soon became one of the wealthiest in her profession in Turkey, as well as one of her profession's leading taxpayers. She also received numerous awards as a model. It was around this time that her biography and lifestyle was covered by a team from BBC Television for a programme in the cycle of This World series in which she was the representative from Turkey, alongside prominent political figures from other Islamic countries.

Another landmark of her television career came when she took part in the Turkish version of the gameshow The Wheel of Fortune assisting the presenter Mehmet Ali Erbil. She also presented two other entertainment shows of her own.

She resumed theater acting, somewhat neglected since her school years, in the 2000s (decade). She had a part in "Dün Gece Ormanda Çok Komik Birşey Oldu" (Something funny happened in the woods yesternight) under the nationally famed theater director Ferhan Şensoy and the play was a success. She pursued her theatre career with the play "Tanıştırayım, Burası Türkiye" (Let Me Introduce You to Turkey), a cabaret for which she had chosen the title herself and in which she also sang a song. The play was performed by the private group Abdullah Şahin Nokta Theatre and it was also well received by the audiences.

2007 ordeals

At the peak of her career in 2007, complicated series of events led to her being sentenced to imprisonment. She spent five and a half months in Istanbul's Paşakapısı Prison for Women and Juveniles. She was productive even in prison, where she kept a regular diary, on the basis of which she published her prison souvenirs in novelized form, titled "Bedel" (The Pay Off), soon after her release in June 2008. The book was a bestseller in Turkey and consequently Tuğba had a busy schedule of signature days across the country and also in Europe during the period following her custodial service.

Fitness video

Another pioneering step for Turkey taken by Tuğba Özay was the release of a fitness video called "Fitness with Tuğba Özay" which sold around 30.000 copies. This work is still in the market. After a while she published a catalogue named "Best of Tuğba Özay" to mark her tenth anniversary in her modelling career. This work is the first and still the only one of its kind in its field in Turkey. With the catalogue's revenues, Tuğba Özay financed the reconstruction of a school in the town of Çubuk near Ankara which was destroyed by a 2004 hurricane disaster. For this action she was honoured and awarded by Turkey's Minister of National Education of the time.

Feature film "Saddam's Soldiers"

Her first feature movie, "Saddam's Soldiers" (Saddam'ın Askerleri'), in which she plays the leading role of was released in 2009. Back in 2003, Tuğba had already made the headlines in relation to Iraq when she became the first international artist to have succeeded in obtaining a permission for shooting a video clip in one of the palaces of the country's ex-dictator.

In the first month of the same year she was back on television, representing Turkey's modern profile in a documentary prepared by SF (Schweizer Fernsehen), the Swiss television network. She has also been invited to Israel to play a role in television ads and for interviews.

Marriage

She got married to Italian businessman Ludovic Fattizzo on 12 May 2009 in Milano.

Also in 2009, she made a notable appearance on the catwalk as the head model during a night organized by Prince Albert of Monaco featuring works by the South African clothes designer Terrence Bray, in an event which was widely covered by the press.

Music album

Her first album, called "Harmony," was released in February 2010 after one year in preparations and contains sixteen songs, fourteen of which she wrote. The two other songs were written by her father İlhan Özay.

Political views

Tuğba Özay is a member of CHP, from Turkey's center-left political spectrum, and declares her left leaning opinions openly, as well as her strong views on hot topics in Turkey's political agenda such as the headscarf controversy and secularism. She is also well known for her regular donations to various charities.