Meral Çetinkaya was born in 1945 in Bursa. She has been acting on stage since 1969, most frequently at Dostlar Theatre, Bakırköy Municipal Theatres, Kenter Theatre and Biriken Theatre. Some plays she acted are The Lower Depths (Maxim Gorky), The Good Person of Szechwan (Bertolt Brecht), La première Jeunesse (Christian Giudicelli), Ivan Ivanovich (Nazim Hikmet), Ocak (Turgut Özakman), Şili'de Av ( Orhan Asena), In Dubious Battle (John Steinbeck), Gün Dönerken (Ülker Köksal), İkili Oyun (Bilgesu Erenus), Barefoot in Athens (Maxwell Anderson), Sivas 93 (Genco Erkal), Tatyana (Biriken), For Rent (Özen Yula), The Epic of Keşanlı Ali (Haldun Taner). 

Çetinkaya's film debut was Ağrı Dağı’nın Gazabı (1973) followed by Hazal (1979). Her acting credits include Bir Yudum Sevgi / A Sip of Love, Firar, Uçurtmayı Vurmasınlar / Don't Let Them Shoot the Kite, Suyun Öte Yanı / The Other Side of the Water, Denize Hançer Düştü / Balcony, Eylül Fırtınası / After the Fall, Maruf, İz / Traces, Her Şeye Rağmen / Despite Everything, Vizontele, Vizontele Tuba, Karanlıktakiler / In Darkness, Mutluluk, Mucize, Vezir Parmağı, Murtaza, Ayla, Sibel, and Babaannem. 

Meral Çetinkaya started to act in TV series in 1986 with the TRT production Sızı. She gained popular recognition for starring as Ayla in Bizimkiler (1989-2002), her later roles include the TV series Binbir Gece / 1001 Nights, Gülbeyaz, Şeytan Ayrıntıda Gizlidir, Öyle Bir Geçer Zaman Ki / Time Goes By, Anne, İstanbullu Gelin, Çukur, Atiye, and Aziz. 

 She received the Best Supporting Actress Award for her role in Hazal in 1979 at the Antalya Film Festival, Best Actress Award at Ankara in 1992 with The Other Side of Water, Best Supporting Actress Award for her role in Solgun Sarı Bir Gül in 1996 at Antalya, and Best Supporting Actress Award for her role in the TV series Time Goes By in 2012 at the Antalya TV Awards.