Ayşegül İşsever

Ayşegül İşsever — Biography

Ayşegül İşsever, born September 20, 1962, works as a Turkish stage, film, and television actress and also as a theatre director. Although Istanbul is usually given as her birthplace, some sources say she was actually born in Ankara, the eldest of four daughters of an artistic mother and a father who worked in tourism, and grew up in Istanbul from around age six. She attended Yıldız Koleji for primary and middle school and Nişantaşı Girls' High School, then studied at the Theatre Department of Istanbul University State Conservatory, gaining her first stage experience at a children's theatre while still a student. From 1987 she worked as a performer at Istanbul City Theatre and also served on its disciplinary board, resigning in 2015 in protest of actor Levent Üzümcü's dismissal.

Alongside her stage work she appeared in series such as Resurrection: Ertuğrul, Yaz'ın Öyküsü, Hayatımın Aşkı, Bizim Hikaye, and Sen Çal Kapımı, and in the film Görümce. She taught at Haliç University from 2014 to 2017 and took on the role of Stage Director at City Theatres in 2019. On November 19, 2021, she was appointed General Artistic Director of the institution, becoming the third woman to hold the post after Gencay Gürün and Ayşenil Şamlıoğlu. In a 2024 interview she said that a strong performance is what truly enriches the theatre experience.