Türkân Şoray

Place of Birth: Eyüp, Istanbul, Turkey

Date of Birth: 28 June, 1945

Ethnicity: Circassian, Turkish

Türkan Şoray is a Turkish actress, writer, and film director. She has starred in the films Acı Hayat/Bitter Life, The Bread Seller Woman, Sevmek Ve Ölmek Zamanı, Güllü, Sultan Gelin, Selvi Boylum, Al Yazmalım, Mine, Şahmaran, İkinci Bahar, and Bir Zamanlar Osmanli: Kiyam, and over 200 others. She has directed the films Dönüş, Azap, Bodrum Hakimi, Yılanı Öldürseler (co-directed with Şerif Gören), and Uzaklarda Arama. She is known as the “Sultan” of Turkish cinema.

Her father was of Circassian descent. Her maternal grandfather was a Turkish emigrant from Thessaloniki. Her family worked for the government. Her sister is singer and actress Nazan Şoray. She has a daughter with her former husband, Turkish actor Cihan Ünal.