Bennu Yıldırımlar

Bennu Yıldırımlar — Biography

Bennu Yıldırımlar is best remembered as the patient Fikret Tekin in Yaprak Dökümü, one of Turkish television's best-loved series, and she is also a long-standing stage actress of the Istanbul City Theatres company. She continues to work on both stage and screen; in 2025 she played Malhun Hatun in the series Kuruluş Orhan.

Her career rests on the stage. While still a conservatory student she made her film debut in 1987 with Gönülden Gönüle, and in 1988 she began acting at the City Theatres, her first part being in Aristophanes' The Birds. After graduating from the conservatory in 1990 she spent a year in London taking a drama course at Westminster Adult Education Institute. On television she became known in 1997 as Elif in Süper Baba; Yaprak Dökümü then brought her to a much wider audience. Later she played Nermin in Umutsuz Ev Kadınları, Servet in Gönül İşleri and Hatice in Kadın. In cinema she took the lead in Reha Erdem's Kaç Para Kaç and played Sinan's mother in Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Ahlat Ağacı.

On stage she appeared in plays including Three Sisters, Richard III, Huzur and Saygılı Yosma. Her honors include Most Promising New Actress at the Ankara Film Festival for Ağrıya Dönüş, Best Actress at the İsmet Küntay Theatre Awards for Huzur, Best Actress at the Direklerarası Audience Awards for Saygılı Yosma, and Best Actress at the Sadri Alışık Awards for Kaç Para Kaç.