Özlem Türay

Özlem Türay — Biography

Born Nimet Özlem Türay on 11 September 1981 in İzmir, she completed her early schooling in her home city and first took to the stage at fourteen with the İzmir Karşıyaka Tiyatro Atölyesi. In 2000 she was accepted into the theatre program at Ankara Üniversitesi, graduating in 2004. In 2001 she and five friends she had met at university founded the group Mahşer-i Cümbüş, regarded as one of Turkey's pioneering improvisational-theatre companies, performing together in productions including Kafkas Tebeşir Dairesi and an adaptation of Hamlet.

On screen she has appeared in series such as Küçük Ağa, Dolunay, Hayat Şarkısı and Çukur, but became best known for playing Aygün in Gelsin Hayat Bildiği Gibi; after leaving that series she joined Yargı in 2023 as the character Filiz. Also active in music and composition, she continues to teach theatre at a private school and performs theatre-sport routines on screen.