Melike Demirağ

Ayşe Melike Demirağ (born June 3, 1956, Istanbul) is a Turkish singer and actress. Known for her political songs in the 1970s, Demirağ became famous for her roles in Yılmaz Güney's 1974 film Arkadaş and his 1978 film Sürü. The song "Arkadaş," which she performed through the film's music, became one of the most popular songs of the period.

Biography Melike Demirağ was born on June 3, 1956, in Istanbul. Her mother, Rüçhan Çamay, was a singer and stage artist, and her father, Turgut Demirağ, was a film producer and director. Melike graduated from Üsküdar Turkish Girls' College. In 1971, she began her acting career with the film Üç Kızgın Cengaver, directed by her father. In 1974, at the age of 18, she shared the lead role with Yılmaz Güney in the film Arkadaş, directed by Yılmaz Güney. She also sang the song "Arkadaş", which was written by Yılmaz Güney and composed by Şanar Yurdatapan. The song became one of the most popular songs of the time. Due to the fame brought by this song, she ranked 5th with 870 votes in Hey magazine's "Promising Female Artists of the Year" list in 1974. They have two children: Zeynep Ferah (born in 1979) and Can (born in 1989).

Demirağ's fame increased with the release of 45 RPM singles of songs like "Merhaba" (1975), "Hadi Canım Sen De" (1975), "Ağlamak Ayıp Değil" (1976), "Ninni" (1976), and "Pervane ile Işık" (1977).

Following the 1980 military coup, Demirağ was among the expatriates who lost their Turkish citizenship.