Demet Akbağ

Demet Akbağ — Biography

Demet Akbağ (born Demet İybar; 23 December 1959, Denizli) is a Turkish theatre, film and television actress. The daughter of journalist and photographer Oktay İybar, she moved to Istanbul with her family as a child and, after attending İstanbul Kız Lisesi and Erenköy Girls' High School, studied theatre at the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory in 1982.

She began on the amateur stage with the Gönül Ülkü–Gazanfer Özcan theatre and went on to work with Kent Oyuncuları, Hadi Çaman Yeditepe Oyuncuları, Devekuşu Kabare, Dormen Tiyatrosu and Ortaoyuncular. She became widely popular through the television series Bir Demet Tiyatro, which she created with Yılmaz Erdoğan, and was part of the BKM ensemble formed after the play Otogargara.

On screen she is known for roles such as Siti Ana in Vizontele (2001) and Vizontele Tuuba, Firuzan in the Eyyvah Eyvah film series, Xate in the Hükümet Kadın films and Necla in Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu, 2014). Her later credits include Nadide Hayat (2015), Görevimiz Tatil (2018) and the series Sandık Kokusu (2023); in 2026 she celebrated the fourth year of the stage play Aydınlıkevler.