Lale Mansur

Lale Mansur — Biography

Lale Yurdatapan Mansur was born in 1956 in Istanbul (Erenköy), the sister of songwriter Şanar Yurdatapan. She began ballet training as a child at the Istanbul State Conservatory's ballet department, graduating in 1976 to become principal ballerina at the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet, dancing in productions such as Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Carmen and Hürrem Sultan. She provided backing vocals and dance for Ajda Pekkan's 1980 Eurovision Song Contest entry "Petrol", written by her brother.

She gave up dance after moving to England when her husband, conductor Cem Mansur, took up a post there; she had earlier been married to composer Attila Özdemiroğlu. Mansur began appearing in film and television from 1988, and her breakthrough came with the 1992 film Düş Gezginleri, for which she won the Golden Orange Award for Best Actress. Over a career spanning more than four decades she has appeared in films and series including Amerikalı, Nihavend Mucize, O da Beni Seviyor, Mutluluk, Kavak Yelleri and Başka Dilde Aşk, alongside stage work in theatre.