Ayşen Gruda

Ayşen Gruda — Biography

Ayşen Gruda was born on 22 August 1944 in Istanbul's Yeşilköy district, the middle of three daughters of İbrahim Sami and Zekiye Erman, in a mansion once used as an Ottoman military headquarters. Her father, a railway engineer, died while she was in secondary school, and hardship forced her to leave her studies; her family had already noticed her comic gift from childhood impressions of neighbours. She began acting professionally in 1962 with a small maid's part in a touring production, and after sixteen years on stage a television sketch character earned her the nickname "tomato beauty," bringing nationwide fame in 1977. She married fellow actor Yılmaz Gruda, whom she met at Ankara's Meydan Sahnesi; the marriage produced a daughter, Elvan, and ended in divorce after eleven years, though she kept his surname. Alongside her close friend Adile Naşit she joined the core cast of Ertem Eğilmez's comedy productions, creating memorable characters in Tosun Paşa, Süt Kardeşler, Şabanoğlu Şaban and Çöpçüler Kralı, and also proved herself in dramatic roles beyond comedy. From the 2000s she kept working in series such as Dayı and Leyla ile Mecnun and films including Pek Yakında. She died in Istanbul on 23 January 2019 at 74 while being treated for pancreatic cancer.